He track the position of the sun in the sky. Sounds with the sound of hammers hitting four miniature gongs. Even informs the user when certain stars will be visible from Earth.
Swiss manufacturer’s latest clock Vacheron Constantin is not just full of innovative resources – it is officially the most complicated mechanical wristwatch ever produced.
In the watchmaker, a “complication” refers to any function that goes beyond the standard marking of time, such as a Gregorian calendar or dial. And the new Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication of Vacheron Constantin contains a record number of 41 complications.
The unique design, which was presented at the Watches and Wonders fair in Switzerland on Tuesday (1st), consists of 1,521 separate components. Watchmaker is seeking to protect its new creation through 13 patent requests, seven of which related to the sound mechanism.
Seen by CNN During a preview of the fair, the clock has three different measures of time: a conventional 24 -hour day, outer time (the time the earth takes to rotate on its axis, which is about four minutes shorter than one day of the calendar) and the solar day (which is adjusted to Earth’s elliptical orbit).
Among the dozens of other complications are astronomical functions that track the position of the sun, height, trajectory and angle in relation to the terrestrial equator. A swivel display presenting the can, in the meantime, be adjusted to show when these stars will be visible in the sky again.
The watchmaker said his record-minded watch took eight years to do, describing him as a “masterpiece of innovation.” The single model box is made of 18 carat white gold and contains more than 200 jewelry, including several sapphire records.
Founded in 1755 and now belonging to the luxury conglomerate Richemont, Vacheron Constantin also holds the most complicated pocket clock record. Berkley Grand Complication of the brand, revealed last year, features 63 complications, including a Chinese perpetual calendar that displays the complex Lunissolar cycle.
But in the meantime it represents 22 complications more than those presented by its last creation, pocket watches can be considerably larger than wristwatches. With 45mm (1.8 inch), the box of the new Ultra Grand Complication Solaria has less than half of Berkley’s diameter.
As such, the design challenge was also about adjusting the functions of the clock in a box small enough to be comfortably used on the wrist, according to Vacheron Constantin’s director of style and heritage, Christian Selimoni.
In a press release describing the wristwatch as a “feat of miniaturization,” Selmony said that brand experts have organized small components in the “most logical and compact way as possible.”
“The main objective was to bring together all the main complications, timing, calendar, chronograph and sound, on a single base and concentrate astronomical functions on an additional plate,” he is quoted saying. “Thanks to this construction, it was possible to create a pulse clock with harmonious proportions.”
