Vacheron Constantin has drawn inspiration from masterpieces at the Louvre Museum to create a new limited-edition series: Tribute to Great Civilisations.
Vacheron Constantin’s latest Métiers d’Art collection – Tribute to Great Civilisations – is a dialogue between horology and antiquity, created in collaboration with the Louvre Museum. Across all four models, the watches transcend their function. They are not just instruments of timekeeping but vessels of cultural memory – where mechanical precision meets the enduring legacy of human civilisation.
This ongoing partnership, initiated in 2019, reaches new heights with these four models limited to 15 pieces each. In close collaboration with the Department of Antiquities, the maison celebrates four pillars of ancient history: Pharaonic Egypt, the Assyrian Empire, Ancient Greece and Imperial Rome. At their heart beats the Manufacture Calibre 2460 G4/2, a mechanical feat as refined as the artistic expressions it supports.
Nine decorative crafts are highlighted in the pieces, including glyptics, micro-mosaic, engraving, enamelling, marquetry, gilding and miniature painting. Positioned on a gold base plate, the centre of each watch features the effigy of a work representing one of the four civilisations, along with appliqué ornamentation reflecting the decorative arts characteristic of each culture.
BUSTE D’AKHÉNATON
Inspired by the colossal statue of Pharaoh Akhenaten at the Louvre, Vacheron Constantin’s designer chose a slightly low-angle profile, lending the figure an enigmatic expression. The central portrait is executed in glyptics with the reproduction carved from limestone sandstone from the Sinai in Egypt, as used for the original work. It is hand-patinated to enhance realism.
LAMASSU DE SARGON II
Representative of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (934-609BC), these winged, human-headed figures from the Palace of Khorsabad are five metres tall – part bull, part eagle, part man – and once guarded the gates and palace of King Sargon II. Intricate stone inlays of agate and dumortierite form a vivid backdrop, while the winged bull emerges in sculpted sandstone, finished with painstaking hand-patina.
ATHÉNA DE VELLETRI
With this watch, the collection turns to Greek mythology. Sculpted from Parian marble, the goddess Athena appears in a poised three-quarter view, hand-patinated to accentuate shadows and relief, the appliqué is mounted on a gold dial with a black champlevé enamel frieze on the yellow-gold base. Beneath her, a dynamic marquetry scene – borrowed from ancient amphora imagery – depicts the eternal struggle between gods and giants.
TIBRE DE L’ISEUM CAMPENSE
This piece evokes the grandeur of Rome. The reclining river god Tiber is rendered in marble glyptics, paired with a micro-mosaic cornucopia shimmering in jasper and opaline fragments. Facing it is a second appliqué executed in stone micro-mosaic. Its floral decoration is reproduced using thousands of fragments of jasper, chrysocolla and opaline. The base dial is in gold, gold leaf and translucent enamel.