In the XVIII century, the most skilled Genevan artisans practiced their profession in very bright laboratories known as “cabinets”, located on the highest floors of the houses. Over time these alchemists who commissioned extremely complicated clocks began to be called “cabinotiers”. Absolute masters of their art, they cultivated a set of technical and manual skills, further ennobled by a vast scientific knowledge and a great curiosity for new ideas, all fueled by the Enlightenment philosophy.

Responding to the highest technical, aesthetic and artistic challenges, the incomparable Vacheron Constantin models now made in the Les Cabinotiers department, heirs of this prestigious past, delight all lovers of Haute Horlogerie.

Les Cabinotiers perpetual calendar with minute repetition

A watchmaking movement inspired by a heritage of historical calibres The exclusive perpetual calendar with minute repeater Les Cabinotiers features a revisited movement: the Caliber 1731 QP, which combines minute repetition and perpetual calendar at the heart of a 42 mm thin case in gold.
The challenge for the Manufacture’s watchmakers was to combine two of the most sophisticated watchmaking complications in an ultra-flat movement with a thickness of only 5.70 mm, which guarantees precision, reliability and ease of use. Among the technical feats that have accompanied the origin of this watch is the development, by the Les Cabinotiers department, of an absolutely silent ringer that controls the frequency of the gongs of the ringer hammers. This sophisticated watch-making “alchemy” is composed of no less than 438 components, some of which are as thin as a hair, which work in unison within a manual-winding mechanical movement.
Being the oldest watchmaking company in the world in uninterrupted activity since its foundation means possessing an extremely rich heritage. Drawing on the past and based on the transmission of watchmaking excellence and on stylistic research, the Maison continues to challenge time: every new Vacheron Constantin creation begins with imagining watches characterized by technical and aesthetic elements that are definitely attributable to the brand. The new perpetual calendar model with minute repeater Les Cabinotiers is therefore the latest creation of a series of timepieces that have left an indelible mark, each in its own time.

Despite the complexity of this watch, the Maison was determined to make it a model that expressed the elegance, discretion and other aesthetic values ​​that have become its distinctive elements: the 42 mm case in pink or white gold has the purest lines. The complexity of this model is expressed in the minute repetition lever on the left side of the case which testifies to its ability to mark time through the tones of the ringtone. The sparkle of the precious shiny metal perfectly frames the intense midnight blue or brown of the dial (depending on the version). The indications of day, date and month that appear in the upper part of the dial are displayed in an extremely readable way and leave plenty of room for the golden moon that dances between the stars on a background of essential beauty. This arrangement of the different indications on the dial gives elegance and balance to the creation, while blue and brown give it a modern and dynamic touch.

Les Cabinotiers repetition minute tourbillon light blue

The combination of the minute repetition function with a tourbillon and a representation of the sky in a Vacheron Constantin watch could only be realized by the Les Cabinotiers department. The new creation combines the technical refinements of fine watchmaking with the aesthetic values ​​of the Manufacture, reconfirming the exceptional abilities widely demonstrated in the more complex and iconic models of Vacheron Constantin.

The white gold case of the Les Cabinotiers timepiece repeats minute blue sky tourbillons is characterized by a strong aesthetic contrast: the bezel and the handles embellished with baguette-cut diamonds light up the deep black of the dial, punctuated by the diamond baguettes of the hour markers and highlighted from a central guilloché motif. The subtle contrast between the purity of the design and the brilliance of the precious gems enhances the tourbillon at 6 o’clock and reminds that this timepiece, with its minute repetition function, definitely belongs to the universe of Haute Watchmaking.
The view of the cosmos is further underlined by the celestial paper visible on the back. In the representation of the night sky above Geneva, the Milky Way, the constellations and the stars shine brightly, and seem almost seen through a telescope. The celestial vault performs a complete rotation on its axis in 23 hours and 56 minutes, or a sidereal day. The concave shape of the dial accentuates the effect of depth. In line with the watchmaking tradition, an ellipse traced on the sapphire crystal marks the exact position of the constellations when looking at the watch. To complete everything, the indications of sidereal time, the months and the four cardinal points, a real invitation to travel on the wings of time …

To animate the various functions of this extremely complex timepiece, Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers have chosen to develop a new hand-wound movement, specifically dedicated to the Les Cabinotiers collection. With a power reserve of 58 hours, it is inspired by the famous Caliber 2755 reserved for the most sophisticated models of the Manufacture: the exceptional Grand Complication timepieces.