Affluent Page Features Three's A Charm

By Author: Affluent Page Magazine
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Popular wisdom contends that good things come in threes. Perhaps that was on the minds of the watchmakers at Vacheron Constantin when they created the Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755, a limited-edition timepiece that houses three of the most sophisticated precision complications fitted into a diameter of just 33.3 mm: a tourbillon, a perpetual calendar, and a minute repeater. Equally noteworthy, and apropos, is that this masterpiece of a watch took three years to develop and create.

Easily the most complex model to date in the inestimable Vacheron Constantin catalogue, the Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755 is a direct descendant of the company's widely celebrated Tour de I'lle, an equally masterly timepiece designed and produced to mark the Swiss watchmaker's 250th anniversary.

Assembled into the aforementioned 33.3-mm-diameter 18-karat pink gold case, which measures just 7.9 mm in height, are 602 working parts. The optional silver or gray opaline dial measures only 44 mm. Of the watch's three complications, the minute repeater is perhaps the most technically advanced, while a silent, centripetal governor ...
... controls the rate at which the hammers strike the gongs. The easily worn and often noisy recall escapement that plagued the Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755's predecessors has been replaced with a newly designed mechanism that features two weights that function like a brake on the governor's rotating shaft, which artfully balances the energy released by the repeater's spring through opposite centrifugal and centripetal forces.

As the watch's governor spins, centrifugal force pivots one end of the weights outward, enabling the other end to brake on the central shaft, thus bringing the rotation and strike to a steady rate. All of this complex precision engineering is visible through the sapphire-crystal caseback.

The Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755 features 40 jewels and a power reserve of more than 55 hours. Other notable embellishments include finely snailed counters with diamond-polished fillets and either a black- or white-painted minute-track. The sublime finish is defined by the chamfered edges of the timepiece's bridge plates, which are adorned with Côtes de Genève. Fine finishing work is also apparent in the circular graining on the baseplate and the finely honed rounding-off of the tourbillon bridge. The movement also bears the Hallmark of Geneva and each limited watch is delivered with a corrector pen courtesy of Vacheron Constantin. Very few pieces of the Patrimony Traditionnelle Calibre 2755 will be produced, and for a good reason: Its $669,000 price tag.

The Affluent Page Magazine is a printed publication for ultra-wealthy men. You can get the updated information about luxury watches and luxury timepieces at Affluent Page Magazine.