Vacheron Constantin’s newest timepiece is a one-of-a-kind creation with an intriguing moniker: Les Cabinotiers Temporis Duo Grand Complication Openface. The watch combines three of the most challenging watchmaking complications: a split-seconds chronograph, a minute repeater, and a tourbillon with a spherical hairspring. While you don’t need to look close to see that there’s a lot happening on the dial of this watch, it manages to retain an aesthetic that’ll likely catch the attention of enthusiasts.
A Transparent Showcase of Technical Brilliance
Housed in a 45 mm 5N pink gold case, the timepiece reveals its inner workings through both a sapphire crystal dial and caseback. The transparent façade offers a full view of the movement, the Calibre 2757 S, a high-performance mechanism comprising 696 components. Developed exclusively by the watchmakers of Les Cabinotiers (Vacheron Constantin’s special unit responsible for making the brand’s most outstanding timepieces), the movement is an updated version of the 2022 original, now enhanced with a spherical hairspring to improve isochronism.
Despite its complexity, the movement maintains a svelte 10.4 mm high and 33.3mm diameter profile, embodying Vacheron Constantin’s ethos of combining technical mastery with refined elegance. Materials used include titanium, aluminum, and nickel-phosphorus to optimize weight and friction, ensuring both accuracy and a 50-hour power reserve with the chronograph running.
Complications Rooted in Heritage
Let’s explore the three complications the timepiece is showing off. The chronograph features a split-seconds mechanism, operated via two push-pieces: one at 2 o’clock for standard start, stop, and reset functions, and another at 4 o’clock for the rattrapante. This allows for the precise measurement of intermediate times - an evolution of principles the Maison has refined since the 19th century.
The minute repeater employs a silent centripetal strike governor, ensuring a refined acoustic experience. Vacheron Constantin’s expertise in chiming mechanisms dates back over two centuries, and this latest iteration continues that tradition, regulating the cadence and clarity of the strike sequence with exceptional precision.
Perhaps the most interesting of the three, at 6 o’clock, the tourbillon featuring the Maison’s signature Maltese cross-shaped cage performs a full rotation every 60 seconds. Its spherical hairspring breathes concentrically, significantly improving timekeeping regularity. A small seconds hand is mounted on the axis, lending both functionality and beauty to the kinetic display.
An Aesthetic of Transparency and Refinement
The sapphire dial, a mere 0.5 mm thick, showcases a complex array of finishes (polished, frosted, and engraved) that frame the technical elements beneath with subtle elegance. Grey NAC-treated hour markers and a chronograph scale are paired with PVD-coated aluminum hands in olive green, matching the hue of the hand-stitched alligator strap.
There’s a lot you can point to when trying to emphasize the attention to detail displayed in this timepiece: The skeletonized bridges are hand-beveled and hand-drawn; titanium wheels are polished with tools specially crafted for the task; and the back of the movement is decorated with sandblasted blackened bridges, polished hand-chamfered sinks for the screws and jewels, and a governor engraved with the initials of Jean-Marc Vacheron.
The Les Cabinotiers Temporis Duo Grand Complication Openface is a celebration of savoir-faire. As with the 18th-century cabinotiers the collection takes its name from, one master watchmaker oversaw every step of this singular timepiece’s creation, from decoration to assembly to final adjustment.
