Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Grand Complication High Jewellery – Moon Dust

Among the new products released by Vacheron Constantin for the 270th anniversary of the brand, a model with the mysterious name “Moon Dust” is presented. It is a double-sided watch with 16 complications and a whole combination of decorative techniques, including engraving, guillotining and inlay.

The watch is equipped with a calibre of 2755 GC16, which uses developments for the famous 2005 Tour de l’Ile model. It is a manual winding movement equipped with a tourbillon and a minute repeater. The tourbillon carriage, on which the small second hand is fixed, is made in the form of the Maltese Cross, which has been the emblem of Vacheron Constantin since 1880.

A rotating regulator is provided in the minute repeater to avoid premature wear and extraneous noise. It includes two eccentrics that serve as a kind of motor brake. This absolutely silent system adjusts the duration of the musical intervals and distributes the energy released by the wind-up drum. This allows you to achieve a clear, clear and regular sound.

The tandem tourbillon and minute repeater complement the calendar and astronomical functions distributed on two sides of the case. The calendar displays are grouped at the top of the dial at positions “3” (date), “9” (day of the week) and “12 o’clock” (month). You will need to manually adjust the calendar only in 2100, when, according to the peculiarities of the Gregorian calendar, the year will not be a leap year. The corresponding pointer located at the “1 hour” mark allows you to track the cycle of leap years.

Other functions on the dial include a time equation, a power reserve indicator, a power reserve indicator for the combat mechanism, and (on both sides of the tourbillon) the sunrise and sunset times for the city chosen by the owner.

On the back, as always in such watches, there is a map of the starry sky with a cluster of constellations that can be observed from the Northern Hemisphere. The sidereal time, date, solstices and equinoxes, seasons and zodiac signs are also displayed here. The small arrow in the center shows the age of the moon, i.e. the number of days that have passed since the last new moon.

All this is packed into a 33.90 x 12.15 mm mechanism, assembled from 839 parts. With a balanced frequency of 18,000 pcs/hour, the mechanism provides a 58-hour power reserve. It is mounted in a white gold case with a diameter of 47 mm. There are 2 fastening methods used in the inlay of the case.

On one side, the bezel, the back cover, the upper part of the eyelets and the clasp are encrusted with baguette-cut diamonds in the technique of rail fastening. On the other hand, the case ring and ears are decorated with classic-cut diamonds inlaid in the technique of snow fastening.

The stones of different sizes are laid in a dense pattern resembling a snow cover. Apparently, this is where the association with moon dust was born, which gave the name to this model. In total, 200 baguette-cut stones (~ 9 carats) and 165 classic-cut diamonds (0.92 carats) were used in the decoration of the watch, the sizes of which range from 0.7 to 2 mm. It took a total of 230 hours to inlay the model.

The richness of the decor is emphasized by the engraving. From the crown, the Sun makes its way to the Ground through the clouds. The planets are engraved on the opposite side, as if they were observed from the moon. The engraving, which took 180 hours to create, is made using the technique of fine notching. The reverse side of the model is decorated with a hand-made guilloche.