A unique piece celebrates the architecture of the French capital.
Baron Haussmann's renovation of Paris gave the world the gift of the city as we know it today, but Haussmann's urban planning was met with criticism from his contemporaries. Conservatives lamented the loss of the narrow winding medieval streets, which disappeared completely, replaced by straight wide boulevards.
The appearance of "Paris sliced by strokes of a saber: the veins opened [...]", as Hausmann's renovation was described in Émile Zola's novel La Curée, is encapsulated by the artisans at Vacheron Constantin in a model called Les Cabinotiers Malte Tourbillon – Tribute to Haussmannian Style.
The network of boulevards lined with apartment buildings that adhered to a similar style is echoed by the curves of bridges in the skeletonized and meticulously decorated movement. The model was launched as part of the Les Cabinotiers series, where the Genevan manufacture creates bespoke watches for orders, and special unique pieces.
These pieces are shown at appointments made by the brand's loyal collectors and snapped up immediately. This model equipped with an ultra-thin Caliber 2790 SQ tourbillon movement is part of the Récits de Voyages collection unveiled in November — a line dedicated to some of the world's most famous architectural sites from Geneva to Cambodia.
Paris is one of the stopovers on Vacheron Constantin's European leg of the journey, where inspiration is drawn from façades decorating buildings from the Haussmannian period.
The watch's openworked movement also reminds you of the geometric metal lattice structure of what conservative Parisians initially saw as another eyesore — the Eiffel Tower.
The watchmakers have departed from the straight blocks of Parisian urban planning by softening the corners in the movement's architecture and the case. The typical "tonneau" (barrel-shaped) case used for watches in the Malte collection lays the foundation for this watch, which the watchmaker began using in 1912.
The case made of pink gold is decorated with a pattern of engraved gadroons. The sides of the case are flanked by lions. The bas-relief sculpture of lions surrounded by friezes showcases the mastery of engraving: the depth of the engraving for the lions is 0.4 mm, and 0.2 mm for the friezes. Finishing the movement required just as much delicate precision, which measures just 6.1 mm in height.
Creating the tonneau-shaped case and tourbillon presented additional challenges. But like Baron Haussmann, you've got to admit that the watchmakers achieved what they set out to do and did a brilliant job.