Watches and Wonders
Watches and Wonders: The Mechanical Excellence of Vacheron Constantin’s Traditionnelle Openface
Celebrating its 270th anniversary, the Geneva-based brand is highlighting its history of mechanical prowess by releasing three new Traditionnelle Openface limited editions.
By Cait Bazemore
Contributor
As we discussed in our pre-Watches and Wonders 2025 countdown series, Scrabble the Seconds, this year marks the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin, the world’s oldest watch Maison in continuous operation since its founding in 1755.
To celebrate this impressive milestone, the brand is showcasing its expertise in mechanical excellence and attention to detail by leaning on two of its historical signatures – the openworked dial and the retrograde date display – and releasing three Traditionnelle Openface limited editions, each with a 41mm 950 platinum case and featuring a different complication with “côte unique” finishing on the bridges and engraved with a specially designed anniversary emblem.
The Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface
Rendered in a 41mm x 11.07mm platinum case, the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface houses the self-winding Calibre 2162 R31/270, a 242-component manufacture movement with a 72-hour power reserve.
Measuring a mere 6.35mm thick thanks to its peripheral gold oscillating weight, this movement combines a tourbillon at the traditional 6 o’clock position with a retrograde date, which can be seen through the upper part of the openworked dial. The Calibre 2162 R31/270 can be viewed in all its glory through the transparent sapphire caseback.
Despite the alignment of the tourbillon at 6 o’clock and the retrograde sweeping between 9 and 3 o’clock, the dial’s openface portion beneath the retrograde display's arch provides contrast and visual interest, breaking up the otherwise symmetrical arrangement.
For the remainder of the dial, Vacheron took inspiration from a reference launched in 1955 to commemorate the Maison’s 200th anniversary: the Reference 6068. The dial of this model inspired the hand-guilloche decoration in a pattern echoing the outline of the brand’s trademark Maltese cross.
The Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface
While openworked dials have been part of Vacheron’s catalog for over 100 years, the Maison’s signature combination of an openface dial revealing a complex retrograde date mechanism started with the Reference 47247 launched in 2002. Another model celebrating this dynamic duo is the Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface.
Here, you have a similar oversized 41mm build but this time with an ever so slightly slimmer thickness at 11.05mm thanks to the manufacture Calibre 2460 QCL/270, which is the modern incarnation of the Calibre 2450 – the brand’s first self-winding iteration of the complete calendar.
With the 2460, you get a 40-hour power reserve and a precision moonphase display that needs adjustment only once in 122 years, along with its triple calendar indications (day of the week, date, and month).
Aside from the movement and functionality, the complete calendar features many of the same design elements as the tourbillon. However, the complete calendar offers a more symmetrical dial layout with the moonphase register centered at 6 o’clock and the day of the week and month indicators above between 9 and 12 o’clock and 12 and 3 o’clock, respectively.
Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface
The third and final limited edition in the trio of 41mm platinum models combining the openworked dial and the retrograde date display is the Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface featuring an entirely new self-winding manufacture movement: the Calibre 2460 QPR31/270.
This ultra-thin calibre measures just 5.45mm thick and allows for the display of the days, months, and leap-year cycle (requiring no correction until 2100) alongside the same precision moonphase complication available in the complete calendar and the retrograde date complication from the tourbillon-equipped model.
This variation follows a similar layout as the complete calendar in that the lower half of the dial feels balanced and symmetrical due to the moonphase display centered at 6 o’clock being flanked by the month indicator at 3 o’clock and the day of the week indicator at 9 o’clock. Meanwhile, sweeping across the upper portion of the dial is the retrograde date display.
Pricing & Availability
All three limited editions – the Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde Date Openface, Traditionnelle Complete Calendar Openface, and Traditionnelle Perpetual Calendar Retrograde Date Openface – are available today, each in a limited run of just 370 pieces. For more information, including pricing, head over to Vacheron Constantin’s website.