Chronomètre Royal

A not-so brief exploration on Vacheron Constantin’s pursuit of precision on its 117th year anniversary.

“I miss hearing my horse heaving, feel its mane flows in wind, listen to its heartbeat pounding in tandem with the hooves”, was probably what our pigtailed or wig-wearing ancestors said when cars were first invented. Today, we miss the sound of combustion engines as Tesla and BYD rule the world simply by moving electrons. The same can be said of timekeeping.

Timekeeping is easy with quartz technology today. We even have atomic clocks, which according to Wikipedia:

is accurate to within 1/15,000,000,000 of a second per year. This is so accurate that it would not have gained or lost a second if the clock had started running at the dawn of the universe.

Exaggerating much, ChatGPT?
Some 117 years ago in year 1907, the world probably thought Vacheron Constantin was exaggerating when they claim to keep accurate time with gears, wheels and all. And yes, they still come with all the tick-tocking just like our heartbeats. Let’s have a look at some of these, starting with a pocket watch.

1943 - Marine Chronometer

What we have here is an instrument called Chronometer: chronos(time), meter (measurement). For a detailed breakdown of how chronometers are certified, I point you to the real expert, SJX and his brilliant article: A Guide to Swiss Watch Certification and Testing, From COSC to Chronometrique+.

TLDR of the article: “Mechanical movements undergo a 16 day test in five positions and at three temperatures, during which they must maintain an average daily rate of between -4 and +6 seconds (for a mechanical movement of over 20 mm in diameter)”

As a marine deck chronometer, this Vacheron pocket watch does more than keep time. It informs nautical crews of their longitudinal position relative to position of the sun.

On the deck of which ship, you ask. Flip to its caseback and you find the military symbols. H.S: means Hydrographic Services, and this belonged to a British vessel.

This 60.5mm case is made of 925 Silver, with a matching silver dial and blued steel hands. Powering this time-measuring tool is a manual-wound, anchor-style chronometer that features a Breguet hairspring and swan-neck regulator.

For such a utilitarian device, I expected to see straightforward finishing. Alas, this is Vacheron Constantin.

*Cal. 166 in its full glory, pic credit: ninanet.net*

Fully gold plated, wide Geneva striping, mirror-polished caps, including counter-sinks of jewels. Even if seamen didn’t have time nor interest in horology, the artisans at Vacheron still went all out to ensure the aesthetics matches its high technical competency.

Check out the mirror-polished end caps, but see if you can spot that fully-polished anchor pallet.

*Fully polished end-caps and one end of the anchor pallet, pic credit: ninanet.net*

All that for a mere instrument? That’s Vacheron for you. Flipping back onto the dial, we see a gorgeous hard-raised enamel of their old logo. Bravo, Vacheron & Constantin.

*Thank you for letting me shoot and share this impeccable instrument with the world.*

Before we move onto wristwatches, I’d like to make special mention of year 1907, when Vacheron trademarked the name ‘Chronométre Royal’. It was only in 1950s when V&C made their first chronometer certified wristwatch, and that’s where we will kickoff.

1953 - Ref. 6167

*Vacheron Constantin ref. 6167, with a Türler double-signed dial, belonging to a special collector*

With such a beautiful integrated bracelet and case construct, I struggle to call ref.6167 an instrument. My favourite detail of this 35mm yellow gold wristwatch is the lugs. Look a little harder and you’ll realise it’s inspired by Vacheron’s Maltese cross. In case you’re not sure how the cross looks like in 3D, check out the clasp.

It’s not merely engraved or stamped, but an actual 3-Dimensional maltese cross logo that is available for caressing on demand. If a full yellow gold bracelet is too oxymoronic as a tool watch, Vacheron got us covered with ref. 6111.

1950s - Ref. 6111

Glance, and you’ll think it’s the same watch but on strap. Ref. 6111 shares the same hands, indices and 35mm case design as ref. 6167 above.

*Ref. 5111, watch belongs to a special collector*

Inspect closer and you’ll see the inclusion of 5-minute intervals, sub-divided into milliseconds.

*Small differences, now with finer minute sub-divisions*

Both ref. 6167 and ref. 6111 use the same Cal. 1008, a very accurate manual wound movement based on a JLC ebauche that’s also used in Jaeger’s Geophysic. It’s also not a stretch to imagine ref. 6167 on the wrist of someone like the fictional billionaire/playboy Bruce Wayne. What happens when Gotham needs saving? Enter 🦇-man

1962 - Ref. 6694 “Batman”

*Ref. 6694, nicknamed ‘Batman’, watch belongs to a special collector*

Named after the winged lugs that looks like Batman logo, ref. 6694 is the first automatic caliber (K1072) to bear Vacheron’s Chronomètre Royal mark. Today, it’s also one of the most sought after model and I can see why.

There are certain designs that are immediately recognisable. From cow horns (cornes de vache) to teardrop lugs, ref.6694/Batman is also one that I’d call ‘Very Vacheron’. For this accolade, VC decided to honour it with a gem.

See how the hour and minute hands follow a same styling as its indices; baton with a sliver of black running between. Besides a 35mm white gold case, there are also yellow gold variants.

*Ref. 6694 in yellow gold, pic credit: Vacheron Constantin*

One of the more noteworthy variant is perhaps this full white gold bracelet watch auctioned by Phillips in recent times. Entire case and bracelet has a geometric finish, engaging both our senses of touch and sight.

*Full white gold ref. 6694, pic credit: Phillips*

1975 - Ref. 2215

Alas, we arrive at my favourite Royal Chronometer ref. 2215, otherwise known as the first stainless steel integrated bracelet wristwatch from Vacheron Constantin.

*Ref. 2215, watch belongs to a special collector*

The Nautilus and Royal Oak. That’s who ref. 2215 had to go up against. While it didn’t win the popularity contest, 2215’s offspring and the now iconic ref. 222 did.

If you ask me though, Vacheron’s ref. 2215 wasn’t vying to become prom queen. They were nerding out at the Science Fair to see who has the most accurate tool watch.

Lest we forget, we are still discussing Chronometry, which means movements are adjusted to withstand heat and cold, while maintaining isochronism in up to 5 positions. I did say nerd, right? 🤓

This is a masterclass in “How to make a tool watch beautiful”. Vacheron kept it real cool with three ice-cubes instead of four, even slipping in a date window at 6 o’clock. Produced for only two years (1975 to 1977) every model of ref. 2215 is individually numbered on the caseback.

Chronometers took a little break from 1977 to late 80s. You can kinda forgive Vacheron seeing that they were making the venerable 222s and some insane automatic perpetual calendars (43031/43032) from 1983 onwards.

The story of Royal Chronometer continues in 1991.

1991 - Phidias

Unlike ref. 2215 from earlier years that was encased fully in steel, Phidias was mainly produced in gold (both white and yellow). While I don’t normally like two-tone watches, the steel-gold combination works pretty well with the Phidias.

*Phidias ref. 47020, watch belongs to a special collector*

As someone who doesn’t like two-tone watches, I was quite moved by this Phidias. See how its middle link runs like a central spine and flows into the bezel. I’m also a sucker for guilloché dials, and this wave-like motif made me do a triple take at the Phidias.

Beating inside the 35mm two-tone case is Calibre 1126, which Vacheron continued using in the next sports model in line - Overseas. After almost three decades of having Chronomètre Royal with integrated steel sports watches, Vacheron Constantin decided to return to their dressier roots 2007.

2007 - Historiques Chronomètre Royal 1907

To celebrate a century of Royal Chronometers, Vacheron created ref. 86122, Historiques Chronométre Royal 1907. While most were made in rose gold, what you see here is a very rare variant - Platinum.

*Historiques Chronomètre Royal ref. 86122, watch belong to a special collector.*

The dial may seem austere from afar. Look closer and you’ll see the numerals floating on a milky white, grand feu enamel dial. Choice of material (enamel) tells us Vacheron made this watch to shine white for another century of glory.

Special attention was also paid to the monobloc case when seen from the side. Check out the unobstructed lines flowing from case side, curling up like into violin-style lugs. Also, don’t you just love that spade hand?

*Special details on mono bloc case, check out the violin lugs.*

Calibre 2460

Like any young hot-blooded male, I had posters of Ferrari and mini models of their supercars but Nothing beat seeing a F430 in real life. What really blew my mind however, was seeing the engine. We could pop the hood up, same way we flick open a hunter caseback to see the movement of our watch.

But if you had a naturally aspirated V12 engine, you wouldn’t hide it under metal. You’d show it off with a glass covering.

That’s what Vacheron chose to do here with this Cal. 2460. For the first time in Chronomètre Royal’s history, Vacheron Constantin shows us what Precision Timekeeping looks like from within.

Every detail matters, right down to the rotor. Like on the dial, I love how Vacheron used the original French name of their cult project - Chronomètre Royal. They even brought back the ampersand (&) of their old logo.

This movement was designed and manufactured entirely by Vacheron Constantin, achieving both COSC certification and of course, Geneva Seal.
What this means is that Cal.2460SCC looks as good as it’s precise.

Vacheron as if goading us to test its accuracy, added a hacking mechanism so that you can set the time, correct to the second. They also used ceramic ball bearings for the rotor to maximise durability.

Parting Words

In a world that’s marching to the speed of electrons, it’s nice to know that some gears are still powered by barrels, wound by your hands and mine. I am very fortunate to see not just one, but six different Chronomètre Royals wristwatches spanning across Vacheron Constantin’s history. Biggest thanks to one of the most passionate and humble collector for letting me share and document these special pieces with the rest of us.

As always, I hope you had a happy time reading. H60Mins, out.