Did you know that the stitching on an alligator strap could be platinum? If you did, it’s likely because you caught our coverage of the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Traditionnelle World Time Excellence Platine earlier this year, or the 14 day tourbillon from the same collection late last year. This fall, the Excellence Platine collection is getting another addition – the Vacheron Constantin Day-Date and Power Reserve.
Let’s try to review this dial with as much attention to detail as Vacheron devoted to creating it. First and foremost, the Excellence Platine treatment doesn’t skimp on platinum. The whole point is in fact to conquer the metal and wield it wherever possible. The case is 39.5 mm of high-polished 950 platinum. A slender bezel encircles a dial that is also made of platinum and decorated with a granular, sandblasted finish. It actually appears to be more understated than eggshell, if that’s possible. The discreet inscription “Pt 950” is tucked away between 4 and 5 o’clock. Dauphine hands and facetted, trapeze-shaped hour markers are also in platinum. Blued subdial hands nicely highlight the day, date and power reserve indicators. The sapphire back appears to have a knurled motif around the edges, giving the case a chiseled impression.
The Day-Date Power Reserve is home to Vacheron’s manufacture Caliber 2475. Its 264 parts, including a 24k gold guilloché rotor, come in at 5.7 mm. It beats at 28,800 v/h for 40 hours, and is embellished with the works (circular grained mainplate, beveled and rhodiumed bridges, Geneva stripes, etc).
Vacheron straps on the watch a dark-blue alligator band that is stitched together with 950 platinum thread. Fun fact: a single gram of platinum can be drawn out to form an almost two-kilometer-long fiber. The most interesting aspect of this watch is that despite all the platinum, it still somehow manages to be reserved. Don’t think that this is unintentional.