There are few watchmaking entities in the world capable the kind of high-end, bespoke, and unique work found in the watches of Vacheron Constantin’s Les Cabinotiers. This is the department responsible for 2015’s record-breaking ref. 57260, the most complicated watch in the world, as well as the Celestia Astronomical Complication and the Symphonia Grande Sonnerie. All of them are unique pieces that marked important firsts either for watchmaking in general or for the Geneva maison. Today in Singapore, Vacheron presented the latest batch of one-of-a-kind Les Cabinotiers models to a gathering of press. They include a stunning assortment of chiming watches that pay tribute to the field of music, “La Musique du Temps,” as well as a handful of finely executed one-of-a-kind models that incorporate other high complications, rare crafts, or both.
One of the most intriguing aspects of “La Musique du Temps” is that each unique piece is being offered with an original sonic print recorded by Britain’s Abbey Road Studios, serving as a certificate of sorts. Every minute repeater or sonnerie has its own volume, tonality, and acoustical quality, of course, and Vacheron has entrusted one of the world’s iconic recording studios to capture the sound of each watch so that it can be presented to its eventual owner. I think it goes without saying that dropping 11 chiming high complications – which, in several cases include other high complications as well – is not exactly the kind of thing you see every day, and certainly not outside the halls of a trade show.