AnthonyTsai
[PuristS]
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Vacheron Constantin Collection Excellence Platine
Vacheron Constantin
Collection Excellence Platine
The ultimate precious metal for what is best and most exclusive, platinum has featured for a very long time in Vacheron Constantin’s collections.
In 2006, the Manufacture decided to invest in its prestige with a limited edition of platinum watches called the Vacheron Constantin Collection Excellence Platine . Henceforth, any Vacheron Constantin model made of platinum would be introduced in this collection, which is designed for collectors. It was in 1820 that Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers first began using platinum. Since then, the company has used this precious metal for many of its most complicated and original timepieces. While 18K gold is only 75% precious metal, pure platinum is 95%. Thirty times rarer than gold, it is only found in a small number of deposits around the world. Its density and weight explain its considerably superior resistance compared to other metals, making it a perfect lifetime companion. A scratch on a platinum watch will only displace the metal; there will be no loss of material. The watch, therefore, will never lose any value, as befits a token of eternity. Besides its resistance and density, platinum has another remarkable quality, malleability. It is malleable to the point that one single gram of the metal can be stretched to form a thread almost two kilometres in length. This has enabled Vacheron Constantin to braid it with silk for the hand-stitching on the alligator straps for its Collection Excellence Platine . This stitching is exclusive to Vacheron Constantin. It was to highlight the special qualities of platinum that Vacheron Constantin created the Vacheron Constantin Collection Excellence Platine limited edition. Each new limited-edition model, therefore, will be identified as part of the Vacheron Constantin Collection Excellence Platine by its solid platinum dial discreetly bearing the inscription “PT950” and by its platinum case and clasp. Long the reserve of crowned heads and maharajahs, but now also shared by individuals with impeccable taste, platinum conveys a certain prestige associated with a distinguished elite of perceptive connoisseurs and collectors. Owning a Vacheron Constantin Collection Excellence Platine timepiece earns them the right to belong to one of the most exclusive circles in the world.
Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date
Limited Edition
Collection Excellence Platine
Endowed with a strong personality, this 100% pure Vacheron Constantin timepiece is the Geneva-based manufacture’s leader in the medium-complication segment. It was presented in 2007 in pink gold and voted “Watch of the Year” the same year.
Having decided to introduce it into the Collection Excellence Platine , Vacheron Constantin has reinforced its unique character, magnified its aesthetic qualities and pushed the “all platinum” concept even further:
- The Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date boasts a generously-sized 42.5 mm platinum case, a sand-blasted platinum dial discreetly bearing the exclusive PT950 hallmark, and a midnight-blue alligator strap hand-stitched with woven platinum and silk thread (exclusive to Vacheron Constantin) with a folding clasp also in platinum, creating an unostentatious but visually spectacular piece.
- Besides the hour and minute display, this deceptively simple watch features two of the most useful complications: day and date. Displayed with finesse and subtlety in the form of two original retrograde indicators on the dial, they highlight the interior complexity of the mechanical movement.
- A convex sapphire crystal back reveals the finishing and decoration of the 2460R31R7 movement, which is stamped with the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. The automatic mechanical movement, designed, developed and made by the Vacheron Constantin manufacture, is distinguished by the meticulous chamfering work of the Côtes de Genève bridges and circular graining of the plate. Its 22K yellow gold guilloché rotor is powered by an innovative system of ceramic ball-bearings.
Designed for collectors who cherish excellence and for lovers of watches that are both contemporary and technical, the Collection Excellence Platine Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date embodies the values common to both platinum and Vacheron Constantin: exclusivity, durability and investment value.
Deceptive simplicity hides mechanical complexity
In the eyes of true watch connoisseurs, the interior complexity of a mechanical movement is even more strongly appreciated when displayed with finesse and subtlety on the dial. The watch Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date from Vacheron Constantin fits this bill perfectly.
Equipped with a double complication displayed by two retrograde indicators, the watch Patrimony Contemporaine Retrograde Day and Date will thrill watch lovers. It is only those familiar with the watch culture who can truly appreciate these original displays, which are so emblematic of Vacheron Constantin and conceal their real complexity to make them more desirable.
Vacheron Constantin’s engineers and designers decided to supplement the hour and minute displays with two of the most useful complications: day and date. These are presented in the form of two retrograde indicators.
A powerful expression of technology put at the service of aesthetics, these retrograde displays, besides their originality, present undeniable mechanical complexity.
The instantaneous return of the hands in less than 1/10th of a second from one end of an arc covering almost 180º to the other demands considerable power for a mechanism of this size. A sudden surge of energy is released to carry out this function in a fraction of a second and with infinite precision. To guarantee this procedure, a special alloy, very resilient and light, had to be used for the two hands.
Power, speed and precision: three key elements brought to perfection by Vacheron Constantin’s master watchmakers so that the complexity of the two retrograde displays appears deceptively simple.
A movement stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva joins the manufacture’s line of new automatic movements
At the heart of this timekeeper, a powerful declaration of purity and simplicity, lies the automatic mechanical 2460R31R7 movement with hour, minute, date and day functions, designed, developed and made by the Vacheron Constantin manufacture.
This double-complication movement belongs to the line of new in-house 11½ lines (25.6 mm) automatic movements which were introduced in 2005 during the manufacture’s 250th anniversary celebrations. The 2460R31R7, the brand’s very latest, beats at 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a power reserve exceeding 40 hours.
It is distinguished by the meticulous chamfering work of the Côtes de Genève bridges and the circular graining of the plate. Its 22K yellow gold guilloché rotor is powered by an innovative system of ceramic ball-bearings.
Stamped with the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, the 2460R31R7 movement meets the twelve exacting criteria of this symbol of horological perfection.
This highly exclusive label is recognised as a guarantee of superior quality as much as an important indicator of provenance. Above and beyond the technical and aesthetic constraints stipulated by the rules and regulations, it is rooted in a philosophy of horological workmanship that makes no concessions to quality, whether it is the individual components or the movement as a whole. The Hallmark of Geneva is nothing less than a guarantee of greater durability for the movement.
The timeless strength of a design conveying Vacheron Constantin’s pursuit of excellence
Comprising two parts and extended with soldered horns, the 950 platinum case is a generous 42.5 mm in diameter. All elegance and grace, it has a convex sapphire crystal back through which the movement finishing and decoration can be admired. It is water-resistant to a pressure of 3 Bars, the equivalent of approximately 30 metres.
The large opening on its platinum sand-blasted dial makes the functions very easy to read. The dial itself is of a complex construction and curved on the exterior. Conveying the meticulous attention that is brought to every detail to give the watch its overall sense of harmony, it also boasts all the other aesthetic features linked with the Patrimony Contemporaine line: baton hands and four curved triangular hourmarkers at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock to marry with the curve of the dial.
T echnical Features
Reference 86020/000P-9345
Limited series of 100
Individually numbered “Collection Excellence Platine”
Movement 2460 R31 R7, automatic mechanical
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva
Height of movement 5.40 mm
Diameter of movement 25.60 mm (11 ½ lines)
Jewels 27 rubies
Frequency 28’800 vibrations/hour
Power reserve Approx. 40 hours
Indications Hours, minutes,
Date and day with fly-back hands
Case Platinum 950
42.50 mm in diameter
Sapphire glass, convex, with anti-reflective coating on one side
Water–resistance Pressure of 3 Bars, equivalent to 30 metres
Dial Platinum 950
Finishing sand-blasted
Convex exterior zone
Circular-grained exterior minute-track
Special marking “PT950” at 4.30
12 hand-curved applied hour-makers in 18K white gold
Strap Dark blue Mississipiensis alligator
Hand-stitched in platinum thread and silk
(Exclusive to Vacheron Constantin)
Clasp Platinum 950 folding clasp
Polished half Maltese cross
This message has been edited by AnthonyTsai on 2008-10-21 08:57:27
Vacheron Constantin Collection Excellence Platine
