THE (RE)BIRTH OF A STAR
The yellow gold watch, a reissue of an elegant, sporty 1970s piece, presented by the Geneva-based manufacture at Watches and Wonders was a great success.
In 1977, Vacheron Constantin, a company founded in 1755, celebrated its 222nd anniversary and to crown the event, presented a watch designed by Jorg Hysek. Its elegant, sporty look marked the catalog of the Geneva-based company, which was more accustomed to offering dress watches, and it was available in several sizes. It is the so-called Jumbo version that was chosen 45 years later to become part of the Historiques collection, a line of reissues carefully selected from Vacheron Constantin‘s rich heritage. Unveiled at Watches and Wonders, the Historiques 222 watch was an instant hit. However, while it appears to be a carbon copy of the original piece, it features some “aesthetic” changes, integrates a more ergonomic bracelet and embeds a contemporary engine.
Indeed, its yellow gold case, 37mm in diameter and 7.95 thick, marked with a small Maltese cross in white gold in the lower right-hand corner, houses the manufacture’s 2455/2 caliber, an automatic movement clocked at 4hz, delivering a 40-hour power reserve and equipped with a customized oscillating weight visible through the transparent back. Curved by a fixed bezel with a gear-like serration, the champagne-colored dial features an applied hour-circle and a pair of yellow gold Super-LumiNova®-coated central hour/minute hands that accentuate the vintage look of the whole. A date window at 3 o’clock completes the watch’s functionality.
