Seventeen timepieces from the Vacheron Constantin private Heritage collection pay tribute to the encounters that have punctuated the history of the Maison.
Press Release and invitation
They retrace the saga of these incredible collaborative endeavours resulting in technical and artistic breakthroughs that have in turn given life to exceptional horological creations and instruments, thereby writing significant chapters in the history of Fine Watchmaking. The exhibition “DIPTYQUES” A HISTORY OF COLLABORATIONS will take place at the Vacheron Constantin boutiques, in ION Orchard and Marina Bay Sands, from March 1st to March 31st, 2021.
« DIPTYQUES » A HISTORY OF COLLABORATIONS, is all about personalities bound by a sense of kinship, mutually enriching visions and complementary skills. People such as Jacques-Barthélémy Vacheron, a technically gifted watchmaker who was the grandson of the Maison’s founder; and astute businessman and intrepid traveller François Constantin, who combined their talents in 1819. This encounter, of which the bicentenary is being celebrated in 2019, gave rise to the signature of the Maison, a subtle balance between horological excellence and stylistic virtuosity, and to its motto: “Do better if possible, and that is always possible”. Diptyques tells the story of how the ensuing encounters in turn contributed to ever greater advancements.
From Emile Plantamour to Albert Pellaton, from Raymond Moretti to Michel Butor, intellectual and manual intelligence lie at the heart of this extraordinary watchmaking epic, driven by a taste for challenges and passion. Human beings are both the architects and artisans of these large-scale projects. They embody this visionary, enlightened thought, as well as the expertise that is its logical extension. Hired by Vacheron Constantin in 1839 as a watchmaker specialising in mechanics and construction, Georges-Auguste Leschot invented the revolutionary pantograph, designed to standardise the production of watch movements and to enable industrial-scale component manufacture.
In 1932, Louis Cottier developed the world time display indicating the time zones by means of an ingenious rotating disc device. Ferdinand Verger, a renowned jeweller with a knowledge of watchmaking, made a Fabergé egg for the tsar in 1880 comprising a Vacheron Constantin movement. His sons proved themselves worthy heirs by making watches with complications and richly decorated clocks until the 1930s.
In 2010, Anita Porchet, an expert in the art of miniature enamelling, created a masterpiece for the Maison: a watch identically reproducing the ceiling of the Opéra Garnier as painted by Marc Chagall. Vacheron Constantin thereby highlights these numerous synergies. Each is a challenge, a bold move, a wild dream come true through the genius of these watchmakers and artisans. Each is a unique brick in the Haute Horlogerie edifice to which Vacheron Constantin contributes, as a trailblazing pioneer and inveterate builder.
Watches highlight:
VACHERON & CONSTANTIN
18K yellow gold pocket watch, guilloché case, date indication, enamel dial 1824
Vacheron Constantin Heritage Private Collection
VACHERON CONSTANTIN & VERGER FRÈRES
18K white and yellow gold wristwatch with shutters, two sapphire-set crowns1930
Vacheron Constantin Heritage Private Collection
VACHERON CONSTANTIN & LOUIS COTTIER
18K yellow gold worldtime pocket watch, 24 time zones and 41 cities indication, silvered dial 1949H.
H. Prince H. Daoud of Egypt provenance
Vacheron Constantin Heritage Private Collection
Schedule
VACHERON CONSTANTIN ION ORCHARD BOUTIQUE
Date: 1 – 17 MARCH 2021
Hours: 10:00 AM – 9.30 PM Daily
Address: Vacheron Constantin ION Orchard Boutique, 2 Orchard Turn #02-07 Singapore 238801
VACHERON CONSTANTIN MARINA BAY SANDS BOUTIQUE
Date: 18 – 31 MARCH 2021
Hours: 11:00AM – 10:00PM Daily
Address: Vacheron Constantin Marina Bay Sands boutique, The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands, 2 Bayfront Avenue #B2M-238 Singapore 018972
