Beating its own record for the world’s most complicated watch, Vacheron Constantin has unveiled the Berkley Grand Complication, a pocket watch that includes what the house described as the world’s first Chinese perpetual calendar.
The watch — a commission that took three master watchmakers in the house’s Atelier Les Cabinotiers 11 years to plan and execute — includes 63 complications, six more than the previous record-holder.
Its one-of-a-kind movement, Caliber 3752, also claims the record for the largest number of hand-finished and hand-assembled parts: a total of 2,877, including 31 hands, nine disks and 245 jewels, all of which took a watchmaker a year to assemble.
Crafted in 18-karat white gold, the finished timepiece has a dial on either side of the case, which is 50.55 millimeters (1.99 inches) thick and 98 millimeters (3.85 inches) in diameter — or a bit larger in diameter than the height of a standard playing card. It weighs 960 grams (just over two pounds).
“The making of this watch is really all about the human adventure, and about the connection we have with our clients,” Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s style and heritage director, said during a video interview from the house’s offices in Geneva. “Even if most watchmaking complications were invented centuries ago, our master watchmakers demonstrate that it is still possible to push the boundaries of their art, to question their knowledge and to challenge certainties.”
