A RESILIENT MOUNTAIN
With two pairs of timepieces, Vacheron Constantin celebrates Japanese folk graphics and draws on its tradition of craftsmanship to offer two interpretations, one classic and the other modern, of a motif rich in symbolism.
Once again, Vacheron Constantin transcends its role as watchmaker to take on those of artist, explorer and historian. In fact, the Geneva-based manufacture is traveling back in time to the rich folkloric culture of Japan, which it translates and transcribes onto its watches, as with Eternal flow and Moonlight slivers, the models that make up the Métiers d’Art Tribute to traditional symbols series. These two pairs of timepieces, each produced in white or pink gold and limited to 15 pieces per reference, reinterpret the Seawater Cliff motif, a design long reserved for the Japanese imperial family and today synonymous with good luck.
Seawater Cliff, representing a tide-beaten mountain rising to the sky, embodies the stability of territorial strength. For the more classical Eternal flow, the Vacheron Constantin workshops used cloisonné enamel (on the dial) and engraving (on the 38mm-diameter case), while for the more modern Moonlight slivers, they used Grand Feu enamel, enamel engraving and gem-setting. At the center of these Geneva Hallmark-approved miniature paintings, a pair of leaf-style hands discreetly display the hours and minutes under the impulse of caliber 2460, a 4hz movement that winds itself automatically by the to-and-fro motion of its engraved gold oscillating weight and delivers a power reserve of around 40 hours.