Diamonds for "winter fairy-tale" wristwear.
Snow setting is an unusual form of pavé setting watchmakers don't use that often. It stands out for taking stones of different sizes and placing them close together. This approach creates the effect of a glistening blanket of snow, where each snowflake has its own individual shape and sparkle.
t’s no easy task for the gemsetter and takes a particular level of mastery to select the right stones. This type of stone setting is normally used for timepieces that are complex in shape. For example, Vacheron Constantin used this approach to decorate the swan on a timepiece from the artistic Métiers d’Art L’Éloge de la Nature series.
Another example would be how the case of the Heure Audacieuse model is decorated to mirror the silhouette of a belt buckle with an integrated dial. The snow-setting technique has been used to encrust details of this year's new version of the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle moon phase watch (Ref. 7006T/000G-B913).
The jewelers had to select 548 round-cut diamonds in ten different diameters for the dial to create a winter fairy-tale vibe. They vary in diameter from 0.7 mm to 1.5 mm. The stones have been placed at random, yet the artisans have still cleverly managed to wrap them around the crescent moon-phase display and follow the curve of the power reserve indicator.
The small seconds deserve a special mention. It's encircled by 24 stones with 38 glittering diamonds on the counter itself. You can see the difference in how stones are set by comparing the case decoration. The case middle, bezel, lugs and winding crown are prong-set with 225 stones, where each stone is secured by supporting prongs that extend up around the gems.
The dial side is where you can see a work of jewelry art, while the art of watchmaking is displayed through the caseback, which offers a view of Caliber 1410 AS. A number of techniques were also used to decorate this manually wound movement.
Everything is in line with traditional watchmaking techniques: the front mainplate is decorated with circular graining, although only the watchmaker gets to see it — the watch owner will need to be content with knowing it's there — while the Côtes de Genève pattern of stripes is used on visible bridges.
The moon-phase display uses a wheel with 135 teeth to reproduce the real length of a lunar cycle, which takes 29 days, 12 hours and 45 minutes. The resulting indication only needs to be adjusted once every 122 years. The movement is housed in a white-gold case, measuring 37.5 mm in diameter.