Released in a limited series of 12 copies, the new Vacheron Constantin watches from the Metiers d'Art collection are dedicated to the Rat's upcoming Chinese zodiac year.
The legendary house of Vacheron Constantin continues its on-going tradition of honoring the Chinese zodiac signs. Every year, the masters create watches. The primary role on the dial of which is played by the symbol of the year according to the Eastern calendar. 2020 is no exception.
Vacheron Constantin masters are using a series of relief engravings to achieve depth and dimension.
To make the outlying berry foliage on the background in the tradition of Chinese iconography appear almost to be floating. Vacheron Constantin masters make an engraving on a gold base and then cover it with layers of grand feu enamel. During the firing process at temperatures between 800 and 900 degrees Celsius, the masters control the saturation of the blue or bronze shade of each version of the new watch model. Depending on the watch version, the rat figure is made of platinum or rose gold.
To give the Rat, the opportunity to solo in the watch the self-winding Caliber 2460 G4 movement is utilized. The movement displays the change of readings in the four apertures in the dial. That is very interesting, as the hour and minute indicators move smoothly, while the days and current date indicators move in leaps. This technical detail proves the level of skill and artistic talents of the creators of mechanisms decorated with the Manufacture's signature Maltese cross emblem!