Vacheron Constantin Celebrates Its 270th Anniversary With The Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

This year marks the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin. The Genevan brand is one of the world’s foremost luxury horology houses, leading to high expectations for 2025. In January, we were treated to the stunning stainless steel Historiques 222. During Watches and Wonders, Vacheron Constantin unveils its next horological highlight. The Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar is an impressive display of how the brand implements its horological skills to create something truly special. The watch features a newly developed caliber and a beautifully created 270th-anniversary dial. All together, this is the next beautiful highlight for Vacheron Constantin in this special year.

Vacheron Constantin calls this new Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar a tribute to Geneva’s Haute Horlogerie tradition dating back to the 18th century. By making this a homage to the Genevan tradition of high-end watchmaking, Vacheron Constantin widens the context of the story. It’s a story in which the brand has played a significant part over the last 270 years. So, what makes this new Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar so special? Let’s find out.

The story of the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

The new Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar, a 127-piece limited edition, introduces a new self-winding manufacture caliber combining a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar. The movement’s bridges feature a classic “côte unique” finish. Additionally, a discreet anniversary emblem is engraved on the caliber to remind you of the special 270th anniversary that inspired its creation.

The new caliber is housed in the brand’s signature Traditionnelle case executed in 950 platinum for this special occasion. This stepped case measures 42mm in diameter and 11.1mm thick. Considering the highly complicated movement inside, it has neat proportions and, undoubtedly, wears very well. Inside it lies an 18K gold dial with a silver-tone finish and a hand-guilloché 270th-anniversary motif inspired by the brand’s signature Maltese cross. The dial features 18K white gold applied hour markers, beautiful 18K white gold dauphine hands, and blued 18K gold hands for the registers.

Zooming in on the dial of the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

As soon as you get coser, you can see the intricate pattern of lines all across the dial. They all lead to the Maltese cross sitting proudly between the 7 and 8 o’clock markers. Vacheron Constantin chose this dial pattern for its 270th-anniversary collection, so you will see it on other releases this year as well.

The tourbillon takes up a large part of the lower half of the dial. As you can see, the three registers are in an arch-like formation. It’s different from what we see on most perpetual calendars that focus more on symmetry. Of course, it is the result of incorporating the tourbillon.

The layout makes this dial feel elegantly different. It leaves space for the tourbillon mechanism to breathe. As we have come to expect from Vacheron, the tourbillon proudly features the Maltese cross as well. Additionally, the sub-dials for the calendar functions are neatly placed together, so it is very easy to read the day, month, and date if you let your eyes move clockwise. You will also see the small indicator for the leap year tucked in between the month and date.

The manufacture caliber 2162 QP/270

For this special watch, Vacheron Constantin developed the manufacture caliber 2162 QP/270. This self-winding movement comprises 324 components and features a stunning gold peripheral rotor. It allowed Vacheron to keep the thickness of the movement to an impressive 6.55mm. The caliber operates at 18,000vph, has 30 jewels, and offers 72 hours of power reserve.

For the development of the movement, Vacheron Constantin turned to the 2018 Traditionnelle self-winding tourbillon caliber 2160. By redesigning and optimizing this movement, incorporating additional complications without compromising its thinness, the brand managed to create the 2162 QP/270. Thanks to the relatively slow 2.5Hz frequency, it’s easy to enjoy the tourbillon’s mechanical choreography.

The finishing of the caliber beautifully celebrates the occasion

Additionally, Vacheron developed a patented secure drive system for the perpetual calendar functions. This mechanism features a flexible driving finger-piece on the wheel. This enables calendar functions to be adjusted clockwise and counterclockwise without the risk of damaging the movement. The finishing of the movement is intricate and features a discrete 270th-anniversary engraving.

As mentioned, the bridges feature a special “côte unique” finish. This subtle finishing technique requires much precision and skill. The beauty only reveals itself after multiple in-depth looks at the caliber. The watchmakers at Vacheron Constantin rediscovered this traditional finishing technique in 2021 while creating the modern version of the Historiques American 1921. Vacheron’s watchmakers used the technique in the early 20th century for the original version of the brand’s driving watch.

Final thoughts on the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar

For its 250th anniversary in 2005, Vacheron Constantin introduced the Saint-Gervais ref. 80251. That watch was powered by a manual-winding manufacture caliber with a tourbillon regulator and a perpetual calendar coupled with four barrels. As a result of the four barrels, the movement featured a mindblowing 250-hour power reserve. Two decades later, the brand takes the next step by combining a tourbillon and a perpetual calendar in a self-winding movement. The brand will produce 127 pieces of this special timepiece that will undoubtedly will find its way to collectors.

Overall, the Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar is nothing short of impressive. Whereas the appearance is refined and subtle, the details reveal a wonderful horological work of art. I must say that I really appreciate this. It fits the overall elegance that I greatly appreciate about Vacheron Constantin. The brand manages to combine a subtle, almost humble presence with refined and self-assured details that show what makes it so special. This new 270th-anniversary Traditionnelle Tourbillon Perpetual Calendar is the perfect example of that.