Vacheron Constantin has unveiled a new Les Cabinotiers Le Temps Divin collection.
This is just about the pinnacle of watchmaking as an art form, with staggering dials.
If you try to pick out the makers of the best watches in the world, there's probably a range of brands which come to mind. Everyone will have a slightly different collection of contenders – half the fun of watch collecting is that we each have our own personal tastes.
Still, it's likely that Vacheron Constantin are up there in your estimations. With the perfect pairing of history and modern cool, VC are widely considered to be making some of the best watches out there.
If you think its regular output is impressive, though, wait until you hear about its Les Cabinotiers division. Often working on bespoke pieces for esteemed clientele, Les Cabinotiers features a wide range of simply incredible artists producing some of the finest watches out there.
Now, that division has launched a range of new pieces. There are quite a few to get through, so we won't go into too much detail here, but you can find a full list of all models below:
Le Temps Divin Asian culture, seasons and wood marquetry
- Les Cabinotiers Tourbillon – Ode to the four Guardians “Azure Dragon”
- Les Cabinotiers Tourbillon – Ode to the four Guardians “Black Tortoise”
- Les Cabinotiers Tourbillon – Ode to the four Guardians “Vermilion Bird”
- Les Cabinotiers Tourbillon – Ode to the four Guardians “White Tiger”
Le Temps Divin Greek mythology, chronometry and engraving
- Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon – Ode to Chronos
- Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon – Tribute to infinite time
Le Temps Divin Japanese culture, time and artistic crafts
- Les Cabinotiers – Ode to Amaterasu
- Les Cabinotiers – Ode to Izanagi
- Les Cabinotiers – Ode to Konohanasakuya-hime
As you might have guessed from looking at some of these pieces, they don't come into existence without some serious work. The dragon on the dial of the Ode to the four Guardians “Azure Dragon” model, for example, requires a tiny piece of wood for each of the scales. That takes a month and a half to complete a single dial.
Next up there's the engraving on the Ode to Chronos model. Created with relief and a mix of polishing and sandblasting, the engraving on each piece takes 290 hours. Its stablemate – the Tribute to Infinite Time – takes 120 hours to complete, with a technique used to adapt to the changing case shape.
Each of the models on offer retains its piece unique status, and is denoted as such with an engraving on the back of the case. Pricing isn't given on these listings, but expect it to be about triple what you think.
Ultimately, this is near the pinnacle of artistic watchmaking, and that's something which is tough to put a price on.
