In the 18th century, Geneva's most skilled craftsmen practised their profession in brightly-lit workshops known as 'cabinets', located on the highest floors of houses. In time, these alchemists who created extremely complicated watches on commission began to be called 'cabinotiers'. Absolute masters of their art, they cultivated a combination of technical and manual skills, further ennobled by a vast scientific knowledge and a great curiosity for new ideas. Responding to the highest technical, aesthetic and artistic challenges, the Vacheron Constantin models now made in the Les Cabinotiers department, heirs to this prestigious past, delight all lovers of Haute Horlogerie. The new Les Cabinotiers perpetual calendar with minute repeater, driven by an unprecedented calibre, is a further illustration of this approach. The exclusive Les Cabinotiers perpetual calendar with minute repeater is equipped with a revisited movement: it is the calibre 1731 QP, which combines minute repeater and perpetual calendar inside a 42 mm gold case. The challenge for the Geneva-based company's watchmakers was to unite two of the most sophisticated watchmaking complications within an ultra-thin movement (only 5.70 mm thick), guaranteeing precision, reliability and ease of use. Among the technical feats behind the origin of this watch is the development by the Les Cabinotiers department of an absolutely silent striking regulator that controls the cadence of the gongs of the striking hammers. This sophisticated watchmaking 'alchemy' is composed of no less than 438 components, some of them as thin as a hair, working in unison inside a hand-wound mechanical movement. Oscillating at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz) and endowed with a 65-hour power reserve, this movement moves the hours, minutes, day, date, month, leap year display, moon phase and minute repeater. Being the oldest watch manufacturer in the world in uninterrupted activity since its foundation means possessing an extremely rich heritage. Drawing on the past and relying on the transmission of horological excellence and stylistic research, Vacheron Constantin continues to defy time: each new creation begins by imagining watches characterised by technical and aesthetic elements resolutely linked to the brand. Despite the complexity of this watch, the House was determined to make it a model that expressed the elegance, discretion and other aesthetic values that have become its hallmarks: the 42 mm case in pink or white gold features pure lines. The complexity of this model is expressed in the minute repeater lever on the left side of the case, which testifies to its ability to mark time through the tones of the chime. The sparkle of the precious polished metal perfectly frames the intense midnight blue or brown of the dial (depending on the version). The day, date and month indications at the top of the dial are displayed in a highly legible manner and leave plenty of room for the golden moon dancing among the stars against a backdrop of essential beauty. This arrangement of the different indications on the dial lends elegance and balance to the creation, while blue and brown give it a modern and dynamic touch.
