“La Musique du Temps®” - Les Cabinotiers Minute repeater perpetual calendar - A perfect combination
- “La Musique du Temps®”: an assortment of one-of-a-kind creations crafted within the Les Cabinotiers department as a tribute to the musical arts.
- As partners of the Maison, Abbey Road Studios have recorded an original sonic print delivered as a unique certificate for each of these models.
With their elegant and refined design, these two Les Cabinotiers Minute repeater perpetual calendar - A perfect combination watches are the latest in a long line of exceptional achievements by the Manufacture. The purity of their design stems notably from a consummate and comprehensive mastery of ultra-thin movements.
A worthy descendant of historical fine watchmaking calibres
The Les Cabinotiers minute repeater perpetual calendar - A perfect combination models are equipped with a revisited movement, the 1731 QP calibre, which combines a minute repeater and perpetual calendar at the heart of an extremely slim white or pink gold case. For the watchmakers of the Maison, the challenge was to associate two of the most sophisticated complications within a movement measuring just 5.70 mm thick, while ensuring precision, reliability and user friendliness.
No fewer than 438 components, some measuring about a hair’s breadth, compose a true watchmaking alchemy within a mechanical manual-winding movement beating at a frequency of 21,600 vibrations per hour (3 Hz) and driving the following functions – hours, minutes, day, date, month, leap-year indication, moon phase and minute repeater – while maintaining a 65-hour power reserve.
These new timepieces are the latest in a line of watches that have left an indelible imprint on their respective eras. In 1992, Vacheron Constantin presented reference 30020, an exceptional model repeating the hours, quarters and minutes while also endowed with a perpetual calendar. In 2013, the Maison launched the famous 1731 calibre, named in tribute to Jean-Marc Vacheron's birth year: an extremely slim manual-winding minute repeater movement inspired by historical calibres.
Discreet complexity
The two Les Cabinotiers minute repeater perpetual calendar repeater timepieces combine a vision of complex watchmaking with an aesthetic pairing pure design with undeniable elegance. The calendar indications follow a classic layout with the indications of days, dates and month, positioned at the top of the dial adorned with a sunray guilloché motif. This perfectly legible display leaves all the space required for the golden dance of the moon standing out against a star-studded background. The leap year is discreetly indicated through an aperture, while the equally unobtrusive minute circle marks off the passing of time without disturbing the intuitive calendar reading. In the same spirit, the slender 42 mm case exudes an unassuming yet refined aura. Only the control system for the minute repeater function, on the left side, reflects the true complexity of these two pieces and testifies to their ability to sound the tempo on gongs. A degree of sophistication confirmed by a simple glance through the transparent sapphire crystal caseback offering admirable views of the mechanical subtleties of this watch that chimes the time.
Les Cabinotiers: one-of-a-kind creations
In the Vacheron Constantin universe, Les Cabinotiers represents a department in its own right dedicated to the personalisation of pieces and unique creations. This tradition dates back to the 18th century, a time when master watchmakers were called cabinotiers and worked in ateliers bathed in natural light, known as cabinets and located on the top floors of Geneva's buildings. In the hands of these learned artisans, open to the new ideas of the Enlightenment, exceptional timepieces were born, inspired by astronomy, mechanical engineering and the arts. This expertise, which constitutes the great Geneva watchmaking tradition, has been flowing through Vacheron Constantin’s veins since 1755.
Vacheron Constantin and chiming watches
Chiming watches occupy a special place among horological complications. For more than two centuries, these complex mechanisms have been highlighted by Vacheron Constantin. Today, Les Cabinotiers department has chosen to pay tribute to them through one-of-a-kind creations on the theme "La Musique du temps®".
Born from the need to tell the time in the dark in an age when people had to rely on candlelight, "audible" watches have taken various forms: repeaters (indicating the hours and sometimes the quarters and minutes on request), sonnerie (striking) watches (indicating the hours and quarters in passing) and alarms (which can be programmed to ring at specific times). While each of these complications has its own distinctive characteristics, they all combine an integrated and complex mechanism with the finely crafted nature of musical instruments in terms of their resonance, acoustics and harmonics. Featuring watch cases equipped with complex movements as their only means of musical expression, these creations represent a magnificent feat of miniaturisation.
At Vacheron Constantin, the first mention of a chiming watch dates back to 1806: a gold pocket watch with minute repeater registered by the founder’s grandson Jacques-Barthélemy, in the very first production register kept in the company's archives. Ever since, sonnerie or repeater watches have been an integral part of the Manufacture’s proud heritage, steadily enriched over the decades.
A sonic print certified by Abbey Road Studios
Sound and music have always played a role in the Maison’s partnerships, the latest of which is with Abbey Road Studios, a name closely associated with iconic artists such as The Beatles, Adele and Oasis. In collaboration with the studios, Vacheron Constantin launched its Fiftysix® collection, backed by the "One of not Many" campaign. The partnership also has a role to play for "La Musique du Temps®", as Vacheron Constantin entrusts Abbey Road Studios with recording the unique sound of each model.
"Above and beyond extremely similar values, Abbey Road Studios and Vacheron Constantin work closely together on creative collaborations involving both content creation and sharing expertise. Entrusting the production of the sound prints of our pieces to an internationally recognised expert in the recording world is an integral part of our collaborative endeavours," explains Laurent Perves, CMO Vacheron Constantin. For the first time, the repeater watches from the “La Musique du Temps®” range have a unique sound imprint, recorded and certified by Abbey Road Studios. "The opportunity to capture the sonic identity of these incredible timepieces is a privilege," explains Jeremy Huffelmann, Head of Partnerships at Abbey Road Studios. “These recordings perfectly encapsulate the shared values of craftsmanship, expertise and excellence that define our collaboration, whilst forever preserving the personality of these singular timepieces.”
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Sum-up
Beating at the heart of the unique Les Cabinotiers Minute repeater perpetual calendar - A perfect combination models is Vacheron Constantin’s 1731 QP calibre. In reference to Jean-Marc Constantin's birth year, this now iconic minute repeater movement renowned for its extreme slenderness is inspired by the Maison’s historical achievements. The difficulty here lay in adding a perpetual calendar to the 1731 calibre while maintaining a total thickness of just 5.70 mm, as well as ensuring precision, reliability and user friendliness. The calendar indications are arranged in a classically elegant manner, positioned at the top of the sunray guilloché dial so as to leave the necessary space for the golden moon set against a starry sky background. The control system for the minute repeater function on the left side of the 42 mm diameter case hints at the true complexity involved in crafting these models.
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TECHNICAL DATA
Les Cabinotiers Minute repeater perpetual calendar - A perfect combination
Reference 6610C/000G-B629
Calibre
1731 QP
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical manual-winding
32.80 mm (14 ¼) diameter, 5.70 mm thick
Movement power reserve: approximately 65 hours
3 Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour)
438 components
36 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece
Indications
Hours, minutes,
Perpetual Calendar (day of the week, date, months and leap year)
Moon phases
Minute repeater
Case
18K white gold
42 mm diameter, 10.44 mm thick
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Dial
18K gold, hand-guilloché silvered sunray
18K white gold applied hours-makers
Strap
Blue Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales
Clasp
18K white gold folding clasp
Polished half Maltese cross-shaped
Presentation box & accessory
Les Cabinotiers model
Abbey Road Studios Certificate
Unique timepiece
“Pièce unique”, “Les Cabinotiers” and “AC” hallmark engraved on the back of the timepiece
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TECHNICAL DATA
Les Cabinotiers Minute repeater perpetual calendar - A perfect combination
Reference 6610C/000R-B630
Calibre
1731 QP
Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical manual-winding
32.80 mm (14 ¼) diameter, 5.70 mm thick
Movement power reserve: approximately 65 hours
3 Hz (21,600 vibrations/hour)
438components
36 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece
Indications
Hours, minutes,
Perpetual calendar (day of the week, date, months and leap year)
Moon phases
Minute repeater
Case
18K 5N pink gold
42 mm diameter, 10.44 mm thick
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Dial
18K gold, hand-guilloché silvered sunray
18K 5N pink gold applied hours-makers
Strap
Brown Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales
Clasp
18K 5N pink gold folding clasp
Polished half Maltese cross-shaped
Presentation box & accessory
Les Cabinotiers model
Abbey Road Studios Certificate
Unique timepiece
“Pièce unique”, “Les Cabinotiers” and “AC” hallmark engraved on the back of the timepiece