In 2008 Vacheron Constantin presented the ‘Historiques American 1921’, a piece inspired by an avant-garde cushion-shaped wristwatch featuring a crown placed at 1 o’clock and confidentially produced for an American client during the Roaring Twenties. In keeping with the spirit of that era, Vacheron Constantin has once again returns to creative roots by combining inventive design with rigorous respect for history in this eloquent tribute to the 1920s.
Radiating classic and understated elegance as well as genuine originality, this ultimate ‘dandy-style’ watch faithfully echoes the original with a 40 mm-diameter cushion-shaped case crafted in 18-carat pink gold and distinguished by diagonal time read-off and a crown positioned at 1 o’clock. The sandblasted dial is graced with 12 painted black Arabic numerals arranged around an equally black-painted railway track minute circle. The hands are in black oxidised 18-carat gold. Topped by a slightly convex sapphire crystal, the case is fitted with a transparent back enabling one to admire the exceptional finishing of the mechanical manual-winding Calibre 4400, developed and crafted in-house by Vacheron Constantin and bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. Beating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, it measures 28 mm in diameter, 2.8 mm thick, and is endowed with an approximately 65-hour power reserve. This new model is water-resistant to pressures of 3 bar – equivalent to 30 metres – and is teamed with a hand-sewn saddle-stitched strap in dark brown alligator leather fitted with an 18-carat pink gold pin buckle shaped like a half Maltese Cross.
