Emerging in the 1950s in America and Britain, the iconoclastic pop art movement represented a rejection of traditional artistic norms, a loud, colour-saturated parade that marched to its own beat, if you will. At its vanguard were artists including Andy Warhol, James Rosenquist and Roy Lichtenstein, whose seminal work critiqued everything from the snares of fame to celebrity.
The boldness, spontaneity and creative liberation of the movement is encapsulated in Vacheron Constantin’s pop art-inspired festive campaign. The Maison, distinguished by its daring take on haute horlogerie, has compiled a jaunty playlist of driving tunes to help you cruise into the new year on a high note.
Dance into a new chapter of your life brimming with exuberance and unbridled individualism with Vacheron Constantin. The brand delivers unexpected contrasts and light effects to elicit emotions, while hewing to the strictures of fine craftmanship. These exceptional timepieces are the free-spirit’s companion to a life extraordinary – not unlike that of Drella’s (as Warhol was fondly known).
01 | Patrimony Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin
This sleek (its 4.05mm automatic movement is housed in a 8.96mm case), pink gold watch (above; left) is an elegant interpretation of the perpetual calendar – sprinkled with a dash of whimsy. Let your imagination wander into the Elysian as you peer at its moon phase bearing a star-studded sky and a pair of moons. But it’s not all castles in the sky – the watch is capable of keeping perfect time till 2100. You can admire the hand-finished details of its self-winding mechanical movement in its openworked caseback.
02 | Patrimony Retrograde Day-Date
Inspired by the easy-to-read designs of the 1950s, this pink gold timepiece features hour markers and hands that follow the gentle curve of the dial. Its blue dial, sporting a circular-grained external minute-counter that reflects light, also boasts a rare combination of retrograde hand-type day and date display.
03 | Patrimony Self-Winding
Lending sparkle to your days is this minimalist 36.5mm diameter watch, whose bezel and external minute-counter are set with 117 round-cut diamonds. Its pink gold case houses a self-winding movement with an elevated oscillating weight in 22K gold inspired by the Maltese cross – visible through a transparent sapphire glass caseback.
04 | Traditionnelle Tourbillon
The Maltese cross, which denotes prudence, justice, fortitude, and temperance, once again plays a starring role – and in a tourbillon mechanism trimmed with 46 round-cut diamonds, no less – in this pink gold watch. Notably, this is the first self-winding tourbillon from the Traditionnelle collection with a power reserve of three days. Featuring horns, bezel and frame set with 208 round-cut diamonds that complement the mother-of-pearl dial, this is apt for the bon vivant with a predilection for shiny, pretty things.
05 | Traditionnelle Tourbillon Chronograph
Combining two fine watchmaking grand complications – the single-push chronograph movement and the tourbillon – in a scintillating package is this pink gold watch. At 12 o’clock, the tourbillon cage, rendered as a Maltese cross, is set in motion by an intermediary wheel on the seconds display, allowing for a larger opening on the mechanism. Complementing the railroad-style minute counter is a tachymeter scale that encircles the power reserve indicator and 45-minute counter.
06 | Fiftysix Day-Date
This pink gold watch’s horns inspired by the sides of the Maltese cross, integrated crown, and sapphire glass are a throwback to a model from 1956. Understated elegance is a key feature of the timepiece, which displays the power reserve, a day-date indicator, and seconds on the dial, and – through its openworked caseback – an elevated oscillating weight in 22K gold, also inspired by the Maltese cross for design continuity.
07 | Égérie Self-Winding
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Egerie 2020 -
Egerie 2020
Embodying the fine intricacy of Haute Couture is this watch in pink gold, whose dial prominently showcases a pleated motif that recalls the painstaking tapestry technique. The delicate design is accentuated by a bezel crowned with 58 round-cut diamonds, as well as a date ring studded with 34 round-cut diamonds. Add a luminous moonstone to its crown, and what you’ve got is an irresistibly feminine timepiece for debutantes and grand dames alike.