Vacheron Constantin Celebrates the History of Aviation With Five Limited Edition Watches
Yours for $135,000 USD.
Hodinkee has just got their hands on two very special watches from Vacheron Constantin. As part of the watchmaker’s Metiers d’Art lineup, the Les Aérostiers series focuses in on five hot air balloon flights that transpired before the French Revolution.
The watches feature plique-à-jour enamelling as the dial, where four windows near the 1 o’clock, 4 o’clock, 7 o’clock and 11 o’clock tell the seconds, date, day and hour, respectively. The main component, of course, is the ornate balloon at the center of the watch. Taking three weeks to engrave and set, the pink-and-white gold balloon is extremely intricate, and shows a high level of detail — many of the details contain little bits of historic references.
Powered by a caliber 2460 G4/1, the Metiers d’Art Les Aérostiers watches beat at 28,800 vph and have a power reserve of 40 hours. This level of craftsmanship does come at a price, as each piece from the collection starts at $135,000 USD.
In other watch news, Tudor reveals the in-house Glamour Double Date watch.
