Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art family is the ultimate horological celebration of craftsmanship and culture, a dazzling and creative showcase of some of the most demanding, and often forgotten, artisanal skills. The line is therefore the perfect canvas for its continuing partnership with Paris’s Louvre Museum, expressed in a new collection of four timepieces, limited to five pieces each. 

Here, Vacheron Constantin’s artisans have delved into the museum’s rich archives and taken inspiration from great works drawn from the most important civilizations throughout history. The Persian Empire under Darius the Great, the Egypt of the pharaohs from the time of the Middle Kingdom, the Hellenistic period in Greece, and the birth of the Roman Empire with the advent of Augustus are each represented in a fittingly resplendent nature in intricate dials that employ rare and intricate craft skills to bring them to life. 

The Métiers d’Art Tribute to great civilisations – Grand sphinx de Tanis recreates this formidable Egyptian statue to stunning effect. A champlevé enamel technique has been used to create some of the finer details, a delicate process that involves creating cavities into which the coloured enamels are applied before being fired in a kiln. 

Meanwhile, the prominence of the lion as a motif in Persian history is represented in a dial that replicates the animal as a frieze-like artwork on the dial. Particularly captivating is the brickwork in the background, achieved through a stone marquetry technique rarely seen in the watchmaking world. 

The magnificent winged silhouette of Victoire de Samothrace, a masterpiece of Greek sculpture from the Hellenistic era, takes pride of place on another. Of special note is the brown shade used to the centre of the dial, a colour difficult to achieve in enamel, while the periphery features grisaille enamelling depicting the decorative friezes taken from two Greek vases.

The stately form of Augustus presides grandly over the model inspired by the Roman Empire. Its eye-catching and colourful decoration is the result of a stone micro-mosaic technique, in which tiny stones – just 0.55mm each – are assembled and glued together so that the joints are practically invisible. In total, seven different types of stone, and 660 altogether, were used to create the final design. 

Beyond the breathtaking decorations, the watchmaking is just as innovative and awe-inspiring. The configuration of the displays of the hours, minutes, dates and days towards the outer edge of the dial allows the artwork at its centre to truly shine. This is made possible thanks to the precise and reliable in-house Calibre 2460 G4/2, beating at 28,800 vibrations per hour. Completing the tribute to the Louvre’s significant contribution to culture, the east facade of the museum and its grand colonnade are depicted on the oscillating weight viewable through the sapphire-crystal caseback. 

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