Ever since Gérald Genta first sketched a Royal Oak on a napkin (allegedly), the steel sports watch has been a wardrobe staple. It’s easy to see why. It’s casual enough for weekends, while its 1970s aesthetic gives it a subtle suaveness that means it can still pair with a suit. Although this style feels democratic, it was the luxury names that ensured its popularity with Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and IWC launching surprisingly similar styles within years of each other in the 1970s.

Despite its obviously shared design cues, Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas was not born in the 1970s. Its predecessor, the 222, was. As with all the brands which launched integrated bracelet styles during that time, the 222 was a radical departure for Vacheron Constantin. It was a modern design created to celebrate the brand’s lustrous 222 years making watches; a way of signalling that, despite being one of the oldest names in Geneva, it could still compete with the young bloods and their racy steel designs. However, after initial success, the 222 failed to capture the imagination in the same way as Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak or Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and Vacheron Constantin quietly retired the line in 1985.

Just over a decade later, in 1996, rather than simply reissue the 222 (we had to wait until 2022 for that treat), Vacheron Constantin decided to have another go at the steel sports market with a collection that took inspiration from the 222 but reinterpreted it for a modern audience. It drafted in an outside designer, Dino Modolo, who had previously worked with the brand on its Phidias, which combined a round case with an integrated bracelet, to work with Vacheron’s own Vincent Kaufmann.

The new design featured a tonneau case with a fluted bezel as a nod to the brand’s Maltese cross emblem, and an integrated bracelet, naturally. This time the target audience was a new generation of global jetsetters, who wanted something that was elegant yet unpretentious and Vacheron had hit its sweet spot. The collection grew and diversified with leather straps being added, along with complications such as chronographs and perpetual calendars. In 2016, it was given a major overhaul. The bezel was refined to only have six notches, the case made more barrel than tonneau, and three in-house movements were introduced; all visible through the now-sapphire caseback, through which one could admire the Geneva Seal, a highly prized accolade that is only given to movements made in the City or Canton of Geneva and finished to superlative standards.

All of which brings us to the newest Overseas, the panda. This isn’t the first panda Overseas – that was the reverse in 2018 with a black dial and white sub dials – but it is the first traditional panda.

‘Since their creation more than 20 years ago, Overseas chronographs have always been synonymous with exploration for the manufacture,’ explains VC’s style and heritage director Christian Selmoni. ‘These versatile timepieces combine the spirit of haute horlogerie that characterises Vacheron Constantin, with the refined sporting elegance suggested by the chronograph function. In a way, the Overseas chronographs have always marked, for the manufacture, a desire for controlled yet subtly disruptive breakthroughs; a desire to explore other watchmaking territories and to experiment with new creative fields.’

Powering the new Overseas is Vacheron’s own in-house chronograph movement the 5200, which was originally unveiled in the 2016 collection revamp, and included the witty addition of a Maltese cross for the column-wheel screw and the luxurious touch of a 22-ct gold rotor adorned with the wind-rose, a symbol of travel and exploration. In keeping with the versatility of the Overseas, this model now comes with three strap options – steel, black calfskin and black rubber – all easily interchangeable thanks to Vacheron’s strap change system.

With the Overseas, Vacheron Constantin has really found its steel watch groove. Aside from how great it looks, the other thing that makes the Overseas Chronograph so special is its relative rarity. You can buy plenty of sporty chronographs, panda or otherwise, however very few truly high-end manufactures make them, leaving this sector to brands renowned for more rugged approaches to watchmaking. Vacheron Constantin, however, has entered this arena without compromising on the high-end techniques that made its name. This is not a sports watch for the many, but for the few.

£31,200; vacheron-constantin.com