This is the ultimate art and watch lover’s dream deal. Luxury watch Maison, Vacheron Constantin has joined forces with the Louvre Museum in Paris to offer connoisseurs of art, horology and luxury the experience of a lifetime, in the process raising funds for a museum that is symbolic of the French city’s cultural core.
Till December 16, global auction house Christie’s has put up for auction a customised Les Cabinotiers timepiece from Vacheron Constantin with a bespoke dial on which is reproduced a masterpiece from the Louvre’s extensive art collection.
The timepiece from the Geneva-based watch Maison will be powered by the in-house Calibre 2460 SC, beautifully decorated and finished by hand with many of Vacheron Constantin’s hallmarks, including bevelling and circular graining. The finished timepiece will come with certificates of authenticity from both Vacheron Constantin and the Louvre.
The winning bidder will not just acquire this art-meets-horology timepiece, but will also snag private visits to Paris and Geneva to select the artwork and meet the artisans who will bring it to life, besides a viewing of the hidden jewels of the Drawing Room, a private concert in the Caryatids Hall and a tour of the museum rooftops with artist JR, says Christian Selmoni, Heritage and Style Director at Vacheron Constantin. “The acquirer of this exceptional piece will have the opportunity to personalise it through full participation in its creation, along with experts and master craftsmen of Vacheron Constantin and Louvre.”
In addition to the dial, the winner will be able to choose the case material—platinum or pink or white gold—for the engraving on the officer-type case-back, and opt for a strap from among the many possibilities of materials and colours.
The bid winner will also journey to the Manufacture Vacheron Constantin in Geneva to meet the master watchmakers and the artisans who will recreate the artwork in miniature on the watch dial. The artisans are likely to use miniature enamel and grisaille enamel, two ancient arts that date to the 18th and 16th centuries, to reproduce the art on the dial.
The methods allow them to create enamel in the exact shades of the art on the watch dial. Each layer of enamel is fired in a kiln, a process that can alter the colour and brilliance. While the colours of the artwork will be recreated using the miniature enamel process, the sculpture will be brought into sharp relief with grisaille enamel, where rare white Limoges enamel tops a dark enamel background. The caseback is likely to be engraved as well.
Vacheron is not letting out the reserve bid, but watches from their Les Cabinotiers collection begin at $150,000 and are said to be very rare. Selmoni says, “If we take our product offer like a pyramid, Les Cabinotiers is at the very top, the summit of Vacheron Constantin in terms of watchmaking and decorative crafts. If we were a car manufacturer, it would be our Formula 1 team.”
One of the commissioned watches in the Les Cabinotiers collection, the Reference 57260 watch, with 57 complications, took eight years to complete. Since then, the customising of a Les Cabinotiers watch has picked up pace faster, but the timepiece continues to remain rare and limited edition.
At this moment, only 100 bespoke timepieces are in circulation worldwide.
According to Vacheron Constantin CEO Louis Ferla, “Putting up an auction of a Les Cabinotier timepiece based on an art masterpiece symbolises the Maison’s mission to promote culture and the emotions we associate with both watchmaking and art.”
The ‘Bid for Louvre’ also has on auction products by Louis Vuitton and Dior, but nothing as extravagant an offering as what Vacheron is putting out. The Swiss luxury watchmaker and Louvre first collaborated in 2016, when an 18th century clock, La Création du Monde, displayed in the museum, was restored by them.
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