Vacheron Constantin once again wins the Watch of the Year Prize, this time for its Historiques American 1921 model. Just two years after being awarded the 2007 Watch of the Year Prize (for the Patrimony Contemporary Retrograde Date and Day model), Vacheron Constantin once again takes the top spot on the winner’s podium with the 2009 Watch of the Year Prize, this time for its ‘Historiques American 1921’ model.

Yesterday evening, at the prize-giving ceremony held at the Geneva Intercontinental Hotel and attended by over 500 people, Vacheron Constantin CEO Juan-Carlos had the privilege of being officially presented with the distinction.

In his acceptance speech, Juan-Carlos Torres stated : “On behalf of Vacheron Constantin, I am infinitely honoured to once again receive the Watch of the Year Prize, awarded this year for our Historiques American 1921 model. The jury’s decision rewards and honours the excellence of the watchmaking tradition cultivated by Vacheron Constantin. It is also acknowledges the technical performance and aesthetic elegance of our company, values that have been consistently handed down from one generation to the next for over 250 years. I thank the jury for its choice and I wish to share this prize with my entire personnel.

As far as the award-wining model is concerned, the ‘Historiques American 1921’ has enjoyed instant and substantial success among our customers.

Born of a determination to highlight the wealth of our heritage, its design is inspired by an avant-garde cushion-shaped wristwatch featuring a crown at 1 o’clock, created for the crown in response to the wishes of an American client in during the Roaring Twenties. It blends creativity embodied in the daring style of the 1920s, with rigorous technical sophistication expressed through the new mechanical manual-winding Manufacture 4400 movement bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva to which we are firmly committed.”

‘Historiques American 1921’

Born of a determination to highlight the wealth of the Vacheron Constantin heritage, the ‘Historiques’ line is intended to revive models symbolising the spirit and expertise of the brand through contemporary contemporary reinterpretations.

After presenting the reinterpreted Chronomètre Royal 1907 on the occasion of its 100th anniversary, in 2008 Vacheron Constantin presented the ‘Historiques American 1921’, a piece inspired by an avant-garde cushion-shaped wristwatch featuring a crown placed at 1 o’clock and confidentially produced for an American client during the Roaring Twenties. In keeping with the spirit of that era, Vacheron Constantin has once again returns to creative roots by combining inventive design with rigorous respect for history in this eloquent tribute to the 1920s.

Radiating classic and understated elegance as well as genuine originality, this ultimate ‘dandy-style’ watch faithfully echoes the original with a 40 mm-diameter cushion-shaped case crafted in 18-carat pink gold and distinguished by diagonal time read-off and a crown positioned at 1 o’clock. The sandblasted dial is graced with 12 painted black Arabic numerals arranged around an equally black-painted railway track minute circle. The hands are in black oxidised 18-carat gold. Topped by a slightly convex sapphire crystal, the case is fitted with a transparent back enabling one to admire the exceptional finishing of the mechanical manual-winding Calibre 4400, developed and crafted in-house by Vacheron Constantin and bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. Beating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour, it measures 28 mm in diameter, 2.8 mm thick, and is endowed with an approximately 65-hour power reserve. This new model is water-resistant to pressures of 3 bar – equivalent to 30 metres – and is teamed with a hand-sewn saddle-stitched strap in dark brown alligator leather fitted with an 18-carat pink gold pin buckle shaped like a half Maltese Cross.

Produced in limited quantities, the ‘Historiques American 1921’ is bound to delight connoisseurs and devotees of classic and daring fine watchmaking who are looking for distinctive timepieces and whose horological curiosity naturally draws them to its timeless aesthetic and functional qualities.

At the end of each year, the French-speaking Swiss press group Ringier and its “Montres Passion” watch magazine present the Watch of the Year Prize, a distinction awarded by a jury of watch industry professionals at an annual ceremony that has become a must-see event.

On the occasion of Only Watch 2009, organised on behalf of the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophy, Vacheron Constantin makes its first-ever introduction of a watch made from tantalum. This one-of-kind Quai de l’Ile model, testifying to the latest technological breakthroughs from the Geneva-based manufacturer, will be presented at the charity auction to be held in Monaco on September 24th 2009.

In a fascinating new sequel to the official launch of the new Quai de l’Ile collection in Geneva at the April 2008 Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie, Vacheron Constantin now presents the first-ever one-of-a-kind Quai de l’Ile model. Dedicated to the ONLY WATCH 2009 charity auction that will take place in Monaco on September 24th, this unique watch features a tantalum case also representing a major first in the history of the Geneva-based manufacturer.

Not only had Vacheron Constantin never yet made a watch in tantalum, but its original dial was also the object of cutting-edge research conducted by the Vacheron Constantin teams, thereby ensuring the unique nature of this model specially intended to raise funds for the Monegasque Association against Muscular Dystrophy.

While Vacheron Constantin had thus far used the entire range of precious metals to be found within the watch industry, including palladium which also appears on the sides and crown of the ONLY WATCH ’09 model, many long months of technical development were required to create the tantalum case with its revolutionary construction consisting of seven main elements and enabling a successful alliance between the two metals.

The semi-transparent dial of the Quai de l’Ile provides a spectacular plunging view of the complex mechanism of Calibre 2460 bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva and entirely developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin. Above all, it stems from an association between the world of watchmaking and that of the ultra-secret, incredibly sophisticated Security Printing technologies such as are used for banknotes and passports, resulting in an unprecedented combination of engraving, metallization and special inks. On this unique model, the following message of support appears around the minute circle:

“Monaco, September 24th 2009, hand in hand with the Association Monégasque contre les Myopathies
Vacheron Constantin supports scientific and medical research to provide children with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a better quality of life.”

The Quai de l’Ile collection, embodying a new dimension in Fine Watchmaking,
is united here with tantalum, a metal widely used in the aeronautical and medical industries.

These two powerful symbols of the spirit of constant research and innovation that prevailed throughout the project development phase inspired the Vacheron Constantin teams in conceiving and crafting this one-of-a-kind creation for the ONLY WATCH auction. They are indeed the very qualities needed by the scientists seeking to find therapeutic treatments for a disease that is still incurable and affects tens of thousands of children around the world.

Technical details

Vacheron Constantin Quai de l’Ile
Only Watch 2009 one-of-a-kind creation
Date: self-winding
Reference: 86050/000M9560

CASE
Material: tantalum, 950 palladium
Dimensions: 41.00 x 50.50 mm, 12.90 mm thick
Strap width: 23.00 mm
Shape and construction: cambered rectangle, modular construction
Back: transparent, sapphire crystal, screwed-down
Finishing: satin-brushed
Crystal: sapphire with anti-reflective coating on under side, convex
Water resistance: 3 Atm, equivalent to a depth of 30 meters

DIAL AND HANDS
Dial material: sapphire crystal
Finishing: sapphire crystal; galvanic growth of nickel, metallization, laser engraving and inking
Hours : 3,6,9 and 12: galvanic growth of nickel, rhodium layer
1,2,4,5,7,8,10 and 11: engraving and black or white engraving
Material and type of hands: hours and minutes: satin-finished 18K white gold with white luminescent material;
seconds: satin-brushed pfinodal

MOVEMENT
Reference 2460H410QH, Hallmark of Geneva
Rhodiumed snail-shaped outer ring
Energy: mechanical, self-winding
Diameter and thickness: 25.60 mm , 5.70 mm
Number of jewels: 27
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations / hour (4Hz)
Power reserve: approximately 43 hours
Indications: central hour, minute and seconds hands
Additional functions: date disc featuring optimal readability

OTHER ELEMENTS
Strap: black hand-stitched, saddle-finish, square-scaled, ultra-shiny alligator leather
Delivered with an additional strap in black vulcanised rubber
Clasp: palladium triple-blade folding clasp with polished half Maltese cross.

Malte Moon Phase and Power-Reserve five different finishes for an ultra-sophisticated new dial: the Manufacturer Vacheron Constantin once again demonstrates its superlative mastery of the watchmaking art with its new Malte Moon Phase and Power-Reserve model.

The tonneau or “barrel” shape, explored by Vacheron Constantin since 1912. In 1889, the Geneva-based manufacturer produced its very first wristwatches and also began charting new stylistic territory, in step with the major artistic movements characterising the dawn of the 20th century. In turn elongating, curving, embellishing or paring down the case according to the inspiration of the moment, Vacheron Constantin already introduced departures from exclusively round designs in 1912, starting with the famous tonneau or “barrel” shape. A contemporary expression of the brand’s inimitable artistic sensitivity, the Malte line was born with the third millennium in a reinterpretation of the tonneau shape. As the loyal guardian of an unbroken Genevan watchmaking tradition since 1755, Vacheron Constantin has an exceptional heritage that represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration for its contemporary creations such as this new Malte model.

With its generously sized case (39x49mm), original fan-shaped lugs, distinctively graphic dial design and facetted dagger-shaped hands, the new Malte is bound to delight the most demanding connoisseurs.

The tonneau-shaped case frames a magnificently harmonious dial in silvered gold, striking a perfect balance between technical and traditional watchmaking. It is adorned with five different finishes, all of them involving highly skilled craftsmanship. The inner zone features a silvered, finely hand-guilloché “Clous de Paris” or hobnail motif. The outer zone is decorated with a vertical satin-brushed finish, also silvered. The minute circle, the power-reserve display as well as the inscriptions Vacheron Constantin Genève and Swiss Made are all transferred, while the seconds subdial at 6 o’clock is circular satin-brushed. And finally, the minute-circle and power-reserve zones are screen-printed in white. The moon-phase display embodies a clever blend of technology and expertise, composed of a disc with a galvanised base and a moon face in 18-carat white gold or pink gold depending on the model. The extremely broad dial ensuring user-friendly readability is punctuated by nine hour-markers, two Roman numerals and a Maltese cross, all in 18-carat white or pink gold, depending on the version.

The manual-winding 1410 calibre powering the Malte Moon Phase and Power-Reserve is entirely developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin. It bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, a token of quality reserved exclusively for movements stemming from the finest Geneva workshops, and graced with exceptionally careful hand-crafted finishing. Both sides of the mainplate are circular-grained and the edge drawn out, meaning adorned with parallel lines using a file and bevelled. Also meticulously drawn out and bevelled, the bridges are embellished with a Côtes de Genève motif. In addition to hour and minute hands, Calibre 1410 drives a precision moon-phase display which will not require any setting for more than 100 years and an indication of the over 40-hour power reserve. This 22-jewel manual-winding movement oscillates at a rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour.

The Malte Moon Phase and Power-Reserve is available with a case in 18-carat white gold or 5N pink gold. The satin-brushed case-back is secured by screws. The dial is protected by a glareproofed cambered sapphire crystal. Naturally guaranteed water-resistant to a depth of 30 metres, this timepiece is fitted with a square-scale alligator-leather strap in black for the white gold model and chestnut brown for the rose gold model – both equipped with a gold folding clasp matching the case colour.

TECHNICAL DATA
References Malte moon phase and power-reserve
83080/000G-9408 et 83080/000R-9407

Movement 1410, developed and produced Vacheron Constantin
Stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva

Energy Mechanical, manual-winding

Height of movement 4.2 mm

Diameter of movement 26.00 mm

Jewels 22 rubies

Frequency 28’800 vibrations/hours

Indications Hours, minutes
Small seconds at 6 o’clock
Precision moon phase
Power-reserve

Power-reserve Approx. 40 hours

Case 18 K white or 5N pink gold
39 mm x 49 mm tonneau shape

Water-resistance 3 bar, equivalent to 30 meters

Dial 18 K white or 5N pink gold
Silvered, « Clou de Paris » hand-guilloché interior zone
Vertical satin finished exterior zone
Applied Maltese cross in 18K white gold or 5N pink gold

Strap Black or brown hand-stitched, saddle-finish, square-scaled alligator leather

Clasp 18K white or 5N pink gold folding clasp, polished half Maltese cross

The case, in Tantalum and Palladium, measures 41mm x 13mm. The crystal is an AR-coated sapphire and it is water resistant to 30 meters.Movement is the automatic Vacheron in-house caliber 2460H with 27 jewels, beating at 28,800 bph and with a power reserve of 43 hours. It has circular finishing and bears the Geneva Hallmark.

The Vogue Jewels Awards 2009was celebrated in Madrid. The impressive model Kallania won the prize in the category “Best Jewel Watch”. The prestigious Spanish orchestra’s conductor Inma Shara, international image of Vacheron Constantin, was accompanied by Jean Louis Queimado, Brand Manager of Vacheron Constantin Iberia.

This award is recognition to the exquisite work that has inspired the Manufacture’s master craftsmen to create a new world record: 186 emerald-cut diamonds for a total of approximately 170 carats that illuminates this miracle of patience and perfection.

Kallania is a masterpiece and a worthy heir of the renowned Kallista, which celebrates its 30th Anniversary this year.

Before it was individually certified by the independent laboratory of the Swiss Gemmological Institute (SSEF), each diamond went through a long and a selection process from among a large number of stones extracted from several million tones of diamantiferous deposit. The exceptional level of purity, color, cut, finishing and homogeneity is a rare achievement indeed.

More than any other factor, it is the proportions and precise positioning of the thousands of facets that make precious stones so beautiful. Perfectly aligned, the facets have been meticulously polished by experts to achieve a maximum clarity of reflected light.

Thanks to their light and delicate finishing, the diamonds reveal all their splendor once they have been inserted using the bead-setting technique; each bead is shaped like an inverted pyramid to lighten the appearance of the piece and highlight its luster and radiance.

The assembly, which is carved from white gold, gives shape to the cascade of diamonds which cover it. The perfectly integrated case and bracelet give this distinctive cuff-watch a contemporary air.

By combining traditional savoir-faire with contemporary design, Vacheron Constantin has once again affirmed its values in the 21st century. This house collectors’ piece shows its true worth, the thinnest mechanical movement in the world, the 1003 caliber. Developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin, it is stamped with the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva.

Technical Data

• Reference  Kallania – 33870/S02G-9452
• Movement 1003, developed and produced Vacheron Constantin. Stamped with the hallmark of Geneva
  Energy Mechanical, manual-winding
• Height of movement 1.64 mm
• Diameter of movement 20.80 mm
• Jewels  18 rubies
• Frequency 18’000 vibrations/hour
• Indications Hours and minutes
• Power-reserve Approx. 30 hours
• Water-resistance 3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres
• Case 18K white gold set with 18 emerald-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 35 ct.
• Dial 18K white gold set with 32 emerald-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 9.5 ct.
• Bracelet 18K white gold set with 136 emerald-cut diamonds, total weight of approx. 125 ct.
• Clasp Paved scale clasp in 18K white gold
• Total of the weight of approx 169.5 ct.

Vacheron Constantin organized an exceptional evening event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York as part of the inauguration of “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: a Legacy of Collecting”, an exhibition dedicated to the masterpieces from the Barbier-Mueller family collection and supported by Vacheron Constantin. On this auspicious occasion (a first in the history of the New York museum), leading watchmakers – Vacheron Constantin – hosted 250 guests for a dinner in the splendid Temple of Dendur set beneath the museum’s huge glass roof looking out onto Central Park.

The evening saw a world-first presentation of the 4 latest “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” creations,timepieces celebrating horological expertise and the tradition of Métiers d’art (artistic crafts) faithfully cultivated for over 250 years by the world’s oldest watch Manufacture.

A partner of the Barbier-Mueller museum since 2007, Vacheron Constantin held an exceptional soirée at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, coinciding with the official inauguration of “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: a Legacy of Collecting” – an exhibition dedicated to masterpieces from the family collection and supported by the Geneva-based brand.

This unique event was graced by the presence of Monique Barbier-Mueller and Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin, along with Marc Guten, International Director of Vacheron Constantin, Hugues de Pins, President of Vacheron Constantin North America, and Laurence Mattet, Director of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva.

250 guests – comprising customers, collectors, art connoisseurs and friends of Vacheron Constantin – were hosted in New York’s largest museum and one of the most important in the world in terms of both its size and the quality of its collections.

During this evening, guests enjoyed a preview of the Barbier-Mueller Museum exhibition (on show in the MET through September 27th 2009). After that, inside the spectacular Temple of Dendur Room beneath the huge glass roof looking out onto Central Park, they were able to admire an exhibition of exceptional historical watches from the Vacheron Constantin heritage, as well as the two first boxed sets of “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” timepieces on show alongside the original masks of the Barbier-Mueller Museum. This display was further enhanced by a demonstration of artistic watchmaking crafts, and in particular those of Master Engraver and Master Watchmaker.

The highlight of the dinner was a dance performance by artists from the famous Juilliard School (featuring a sound and light choreography evoking the four continents from which the “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” creations). This was followed by the world-first presentation of the third and last set of four “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” timepieces – a collection celebrating the horological expertise and the tradition of artistic watchmaking crafts cherished by the watch brand.

This eventful evening set the crowning touch to the “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” collection, paying tribute to the Barbier-Mueller family, as well as to human intelligence and dexterity, while once again testifying to Vacheron Constantin’s deep-felt attachment to art and culture, travel and discovery.

About the Vacheron Constantin “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” collection

Unveiled for the very first time at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie (SIHH) in 2007, the Vacheron Constantin “Métiers d’Art  Les Masques” collection depicts the artistic crafts cultivated by the Geneva-based watch manufacture, and in particular that of Master Engraver.

Each model features an authentic mask reproduced and miniaturized on a watch dial. The original masks that inspired this collection all stem from the private collection of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, the world’s largest private collection of primitive art. Three series – one per year, in a limited edition of 25 each – have thus been presented in boxed sets of four creations representing four different masks from 4 distinct regions of the world: Asia, the Americas, Oceania and Africa.

Each timepiece in this collection is equipped with the self-winding Vacheron Constantin Calibre 2460G and bears the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva. This movement enables hand-free read-off of the time. Driven by a complex set of wheels and gears, four discs appear through dedicated hour, minute, day and date apertures, thereby freeing up the dial centre for the artisans to give free rein to their creativity as expressed through the masks.

A world-first viewing of the third and last boxed set of four timepieces was presented at the Metropolitan Musem of Art. The four masks reproduced and miniaturized in these watches are inspired by originals from Indonesia, the Tibet region, Mexico and the Gabon.

Vacheron Constantin was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1755 and is the oldest watch manufacturer in the world with an uninterrupted history spanning more than 250 years.  Like their predecessors who laid the foundations for the spirit of technical and precious Haute Horlogerie, the men and women of Vacheron Constantin continue designing, developing and producing in Geneva a range of exceptional timepieces remain unwaveringly faithful to the three brand fundamentals:  fully mastered technique, harmonious and inspired aesthetics, and exquisite finishing.

Vacheron Constantin  and the Barbier-Mueller Museum

Geneva’s old town is home to one of the world’s oldest and richest private collections of Primitive Art: that of the Barbier-Mueller Museum, initiated in the 1920s by Josef Mueller and perpetuated ever since by his daughter Monique and her husband Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller. In 1977, three months after the death of Josef Mueller, the couple opened the first museum bearing their name in Geneva. In 1997, the Museu Barbier-Mueller Precolombi was established in Barcelona.

It was in 2007, marking the 100th anniversary of the family collection, that Vacheron Constantin became an official partner of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva. That milestone year was also the 30th anniversary of the original museum and the 10th anniversary of its counterpart in Barcelona.

Since then, through successive events at the National Palace Museum in Taipei in Taiwan, the Jacquemart-André Museum in Paris, and now in New York in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the two Geneva-based ‘institutions’ have cultivated an ongoing partnership and close affinities testifying to their shared dedication to cultural diversity and to a consistently pioneering spirit.

These Vacheron Constantin mask watches are great! Each one is unique in it’s own right and has rich history. They come from the 4 corners of the world assembling in a final masterpiece that takes our breath away.

Métiers d’Art “Les Masques”

Celebration of a collection

“There is nothing on earth which is more desirous of beauty
and which embellishes itself more readily than a soul…
That is why few souls, on earth, can resist the domination
of a soul dedicated to beauty.”

Maurice Maeterlinck, The Treasure of the Humble
What do these masks from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas tell us? And what, in particular, is their connection with Haute Horlogerie? “Everything” and “It’s obvious” are possible answers. But that would be too simplistic. The road which led to the creation of this collection was long, sinuous, and peppered with obstacles patiently surmounted. The end result is well worth all the passion that has been invested in it.

The idea for this collection grew out of an awareness of a renewed interest in tribal art. The so-called primitive arts are currently experiencing a new golden age, as witnessed by the long-awaited and much delayed opening of the Quai Branly Museum in Paris and by record auction prices: in June 2006, for example, a Fang mask fetched 5.9 million euros at the French auction-house Hotel Drouot. It was the largest sum ever paid at an auction for a piece of tribal art. Admittedly, the object belonged to Pierre Vérité, one of the leading dealers in 20th century African art, but the price is light years away from the five dollars Max Ernst gave the New York second-hand goods dealer, Julius Carlebach, in 1941 for an Eskimo spoon!

One way to understanding the world
It was in the 19th century that collectors first began to display an interest in “primitive” art. They were able to perceive its intrinsic value and recognise it as a work of art. It was hardly surprising, therefore, that it was artists who were the first to decipher these objects, which said so much with so little. A few sculpted holes in the wood: two for the eyes, one for the nose, and one for the mouth. The modern artists of the time were well aware that art is one of many ways to understanding the world.

The discovery of tribal art induced these artists to follow the lessons of Cézanne, a father to all of them, to take a new look at perspective, rethink volume and space, break with realism, free themselves from the lessons of academicism, and invent a new way of representing reality in order to capture the essence of being. The Fauvists – Matisse, Derain and Vlaminck – Surrealists and Cubists all came into contact with tribal art and this way of capturing forms by stripping them to a bare minimum. “In certain masks from the Ivory Coast, the Cubists saw signs which, renouncing all imitation, invited the viewer to imagine the face whose forms were not reproduced on these masks,” wrote Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, a leading art dealer and publisher(2).

Despite the celebrated words – “African art? Never heard of it!” – Picasso drew on African art, as well as Iberian art, for inspiration in putting the finishing touches to his painting Les Demoiselles d’Avignon, the founding work of Cubism, which he began in 1906 and finally finished in July 1907. During a visit to the Ethnographic Museum at the Trocadéro in Paris, he found material to nurture his formal quest: “All alone in this frightful museum with masks, Red Indian dolls and dust-covered mannequins. The Demoiselles d’Avignon must have come to me that very day, not at all because of the forms, but because it was my first exorcism painting!”(1). According to the painter Wassily Kandinsky, Picasso “owes the success of his quest to African art”(3). And he was not the only one. “A whole string of French painters and, in their wake, foreign painters set off down this newly-opened path; this was the starting point of the Cubist movement,” he wrote in 1910 (3).

It was after discovering rice spoons from the Ivory Coast that Giacometti sculpted his Spoon Woman in late 1926. In 1936, the Exposition Surréaliste d’Objets, organised by André Breton at the Charles Ratton Gallery, brought together for the first time works by Salvador Dali, Max Ernst, Mirò and Giacometti with four Eskimo masks belonging to the Heye Foundation in New York. The tribal art of the Americas, with its various objects made from recuperated and ingeniously recycled material, was an unrecognised area at that time.

Mirrors of the human and divine
While painters, sculptors and poets were quick to appreciate the intrinsic artistic value of these objects, institutions took a little longer, so these masks and statuettes were more often than not exhibited in ethnographic rather than art museums.

The value of tribal art does not reside essentially in its aesthetic aspect, even though this is important. Its true beauty is linked to its usage and use, to the hands which have held it and touched it. Not to mention the powers with which it has been invested on a particular continent, at a particular time, by a particular people, according to a particular religious tradition. Like the reredoses of the Middle Ages or Giotto’s frescoes, these masks have a function associated with initiations and religious rites and denote social distinction. They are, at the same time, the personification of a divinity and a spiritual entity, as well as a mirror held out to men, across time and borders, encouraging them to ask themselves those universal questions relating to the mysteries of birth, life and death, and to the relationship between the visible and invisible, between the human and the divine.

The true Art of time
Setting aside the symbolism and magic associated with these masks, there is a certain logic in bringing tribal art and the art of watchmaking together: both are the offspring of time.

The real sculptor of an object, the one who gives it its patina and significance, who hollows out or softens its contours, is time. Masks were born of a necessity. Used at every ritual, serving to mark the seasons and accompanying both the living and the dead, they possessed a clear chronological dimension. It is also easy to draw a parallel between the anonymous work of a sculptor who has created a mask and that of a watchmaker at his workbench, working away for months, sometimes years, to bring a new movement to life. When the work is finished, both craftsmen are dispossessed of the object, which does not usually bear their name. It becomes instead the property of the person who uses it and will be passed down from generation to generation, bearing with it so many questions and so few answers.
Bibliography
L’homme et ses masques : chefs-d’oeuvre des musées Barbier-Mueller, Geneva and Barcelona, Michel Butor, Alain-Michel Boyer, Floriane Morin, Pierre Messmer Picasso, l’homme aux mille masques, Jorge Semprun, Maria Teresa Ocaña, Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, Pierre Daix, Collectif, Somogy, 2006 L’Art africain, Jacques Kerchache, Jean-Louis Paudrat and Lucien Stephan, Mazenod, Paris, 1988
(1) Le primitivisme dans l’art du XXe siècle, William Rubin, Flammarion, Paris, 1991
(2) L’art nègre et le cubisme, Daniel-Henry Kahnweiler, L’art nègre, Paris, pp. 83-88
(3) Du spirituel dans l’art et dans la peinture en particulier, Kandinsky, Denoël

THE COLLECTION MÉTIERS D’ART “LES MASQUES”

Four years ago, in 2005, Vacheron Constantin celebrated 250 years of uninterrupted history. This jubilee event, unique in the annals of watchmaking history, was a perfect opportunity for the Geneva-based manufacture to demonstrate its mastery of horological art with exploits that redefined the limits of what is possible. Having proudly turned to its past, Vacheron Constantin is continuing its steady march towards the future, in an ongoing quest for the extraordinary. To create, astound and enchant, these are the challenges for the years to come.

Watchmaking is an art requiring fresh starts and continual improvement. How else can one go on creating surprises? Thanks in particular to one of its founders, François Constantin, the manufacture’s name and reputation are synonymous with distant horizons. An accomplished ambassador and tireless traveller, he crisscrossed the world in the hazardous conditions of the times to spread the company’s watchmaking expertise on other continents. By 1820, he was already exploring opportunities in China and, in 1833, the first Vacheron & Constantin watches were crossing the Atlantic. The company had realised very early on the necessity of gaining a foothold in the New World and opened a subsidiary in New York before going on to open one in Brazil around 1840, and another in India ten years later. Can a timepiece serve as a cultural bridge between nations? Both the company’s founders believed so. In 2007, the manufacture felt the need to go back to basics, paying homage to man when he verges on the sublime. It was a long journey, taking its watchmakers through time and space in search of man’s roots and focussing on one of the most beautiful expressions of his soul.

Three years
Twelve Masks
Three hundred exceptional timepieces
What would be the best subject to subtly evoke the human experience? The manufacture’s master watchmakers and designers considered several possibilities. As it turned out, the choice of masks was an obvious one, for Geneva is extremely fortunate in having one of the world’s finest museums of primitive art, the Barbier-Mueller Museum. Its proximity guided Vacheron Constantin in its final choice. The Métiers d’Art “Les Masques” collection, therefore, grew out of a reflection on the near and far, the past, present and future, and the process of constant renewal.

But one obstacle remained: to win over the museum. Would it be willing to lend its treasures for months on end so that they could be reproduced on the dial of a collector’s watch? In the end, two things convinced Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller of the project’s beauty and significance: a lunch during which he and the Vacheron Constantin team headed by Juan-Carlos Torres were able to share their common passion for beautiful objects, and the manufacture’s philosophy.

The rest was a matter of horological magic and the commitment of a team to surpass the limits of possibility. Twelve masks were selected from the Barbier-Mueller collection for small-scale reproduction in gold. They repose majestically at the center of each timepiece in a collection that spans two thousand years and four continents.

Because Vacheron Constantin understands the value of time, it respected the time needed to create such exceptional pieces. Long months were required first of all to perfect the movement, and then the techniques with which the master craftsmen could reproduce these works of art in miniature. There had to be plenty of time for questioning, reflection and invention.

A collection cannot be hurried. That is why the Métiers d’Art “Les Masques” collection is a story that has unfurled over time. Every year for three years – 2007 to 2009 – a boxed set of four different masks has been presented in a limited series of 25.

A complete set of the twelve timepieces reproducing the twelve masks – from the limited edition of 300 exceptional timepieces – is being unveiled at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York at an exhibition sponsored by Vacheron Constantin and called “A Legacy of Collecting: African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva” in tribute to Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller.

A work of Art in miniature
Each timepiece is equipped with the automatic Calibre 2460G4 movement, made by the manufacture and bearing the prestigious Poinçon de Genève. Thanks to this very special movement, the time can be read without any hands: by means of a set of wheels and gears, four discs indicate the hours, minutes, day and date in windows, leaving the centre of the dial empty for the masks to be placed there and for the craftsmen to give free rein to their creativity.

The movement was completely redesigned to receive the masks; even though time is the raison d’être here, the masks are the focus of attention and had to be put in the spotlight. To ensure that they were, the team of designers decided to virtually conceal the movement. A clever technique using transparency and specially-treated glass creates the impression that the masks are floating. Each sapphire crystal has a different tint, obtained by a unique metallisation process, so that it sets off the colour of the mask. The effect is breathtaking: the miniature sculpture seems within reach, a silent guardian of ancestral secrets.

Finally, it required all Michel Butor’s talent to give voice, if not life, to the masks. His magnificent words, short poems in prose dedicated to each mask, circle the sapphire dial in letters of gold. The writer’s lines follow each other in a spiral that seems to have no beginning and no end, a mysterious message that can only be read when the light strikes it from a certain angle. This effect is achieved by vacuum metallisation, a sophisticated technological process in which the gold letters are sprayed onto a sapphire crystal. Thanks to the multiple play of light and transparency, the watch has secrets that it will only ever share with its owner.

2009: PRESENTATION OF THE THIRD AND FINAL SET
OCEANIA – INDONESIA

Facial Mask
Island of Lombok, Sasak people
Hard wood, traces of white pigments
Height: 21.5 cm
Former collection of Mathias Komor
Inv. 3320-A

I dance the duration the wait
patience the resistance
to suffering and to evil
the slowness of the days and nights
stammerings recognition
resignation but vigilance
the hasty passage of the months
and the devouring of the months
Michel Butor
With its air of bewilderment, this mask has both realistic and geometrical features and is dominated by the large eyes. It clearly represents an old man with its sunken cheeks, dark rings under the eyebrows, and especially the wrinkles that furrow its brow and the folds between the nose and mouth. These wrinkles animate the face and help give dramatic expression to the character, which seems to raise its eyebrows and half-open its mouth in amazement. The old man was a regular character in Balinese Wayang Topeng theatre. The masked actors did not speak because they had to hold their masks between their teeth with a leather thong. It was therefore left to the narrators and singers to describe the intrigue and recount the heroes’ adventures.

ASIA – CHINA

Zangs-‘Bag facial Mask
Tibet region, Tantric Buddhism. 16th-17th century
Partially-gilt copper, pigments
Height: 22.2 cm
Inv. 2504-168

With my ornaments I surround
the emptiness opening in your eyes
and in your mouth a third
eye appearing on the forehead
to guide you in your labours
in the labyrinth of your lives
and those of your children
who continue your adventures

Michel Butor
A mystery, even a profound sacredness, seems to emanate from this half-empty mask. And yet the highly naturalistic nose reminds us that this figure with its frozen expression has a human side. The divine is expressed by the strange mandorla, positioned like a jewel on the forehead of the mask and enclosing a painted eye. A beautifully designed frieze of gold-covered arabesques and scrolls frames the empty spaces. This type of zangs-’bag mask was worn by certain monks from the dGe-lugs-pa yellow hat sect. The masks were used in dances linked to the cult of Kâlacakra (the Wheel of Time).

AMERICAS – MEXICO
Pendant Mask
State of Guerrero
Mezcala culture (300 – 100 BC)
Basalt
Height: 12.8 cm
Inv. 505-26

At regular intervals
during the dance I come and strike
the heart whose pulse
races at the screams
reverberating off the walls
that protect us from the ghosts
of felines and enemies
who venture onto our land
Michel Butor
Blending the influences of several cultures in a singular style, this pendant mask conveys all the artist’s virtuosity. Its powerful and austere profile comprises both abstract and naturalistic features. The upper part of the face and the diagonal of the cheek are treated in a minimalist fashion; by contrast, the aquiline nose and down-turned mouth seem far more realistic. This mask belongs to the Mezcala culture. During the classical period, it was the custom of these people to bury their dead under the mud floors of their dwellings. In accordance with a ritual related to the ancestral worship of the dead, the tombs were full of small hard-stone sculptures of asexual human figures, heads, plaques decorated with faces, masks, and animal effigies.

AFRICA – GABON
Ngontang Mask
Western Gabon, Fang people
Soft wood covered with white kaolin, specks of crystallisation
Height: 31 cm
Inv. 1019-76

The line of my nose extending
between the eyebrows on my forehead
and on the other side to
my chin across my mouth
is like an arrow fi red
by a bow towards the celestial heights
beyond the clouds
or naturally the bird
into which your soul changes
Michel Butor
The sobriety of this white mask, with its melancholic air and o-shaped mouth, shows the sculptor’s remarkable sensitivity. It is covered with white kaolin, a colour that for the Fang, as for many other African tribes, referred to the spirit of the dead. The expressive power of the face is produced by the vertical line suggesting the nose as well as the scarifications from the chin to the forehead and from which two welldefined, curved eyebrows branch out. This mask was used in a ritual dance linked to the Byeri’s cult of ancestor worship. Although its use did not have any particularly religious significance, the initiated dancer had to respect certain ritual gestures and taboos. These dances were intended to protect the village from witchcraft and evil influences.

Technical Data

Reference numbers

China Mask 86070/000J-9400 for the 18K yellow gold version
Indonesia Mask 86070/000G-9399 for the 18K white gold version
Mexico Mask 86070/000P-9401 for the 950 Platinum version
Gabon Mask 86070/000R-9402 for the 5N 18K pink gold version

Calibre VC 2460 G4, self-winding mechanical
Stamped Poinçon de Genève

Thickness of movement 3.60 mm; 6.05 mm with additional plate

Diameter of movement 25.60 mm, or 11½ lignes

Jewelling 27 rubies

Frequency 28,800 vibrations/hour

Power reserve Approx. 40 hours

Indications and functions Displayed in 4 windows on the case rim:
- hours with dragging disc
- minutes with dragging disc
- day with semi-jumping disc
- date with semi-jumping disc

Case

China Mask 18K yellow gold
Indonesia Mask 18K white gold
Mexico Mask 950 Platinum
Gabon Mask 5N 18K pink gold

Diameter 40 mm with sapphire crystal back

Water-resistance 3 bar, equivalent to 30 metres

Dial Anti-reflective sapphire crystal

Strap Mississipiensis alligator, hand-stitched
High shiny finish, dark brown

Clasp 18K gold or 950 platinum folding clasp
Half Maltese Cross

Limited series
2009: The third Métiers d’Art “Les Masques” set is a limited edition of 25 boxes, each containing four timepieces representing four different continents (the Americas, Asia, Africa and Oceania), for a total of 100 individual pieces.
2008 – SECOND SET
JAPAN MASK
Ritual Buddha Mask
End of the Edo period, second half of 19th century
Lacquered wood, gilded and blue pigments
Height: 27 cm
Inv. 229-5
From the unimaginable distance
where I savour eternity
I hear the echo of your cries
to console you I send
the reverberations of my gongs
the hope of re-finding your kin
after so many metamorphoses
on the paths of my bounty
Michel Butor
This mask emanates gentleness and serenity with its moonlike face, lowered eyes and full cheeks framed with long curved, stylized ears. The nose and mouth are realistically drawn. The intense blue of the chignon coiffure, comprising a multitude of small embossed curls sculpted in wood, contrasts with the gilded face. The mask appears to represent Amida Nyorai, which means “infinite light” or “infinite life”; he is one of the five great Buddhas of wisdom who guide believers to a second life after death. The profile of this particular figure, dating from the 19th century, brings to mind the face of the famous great Buddha statue in the Kamakura sanctuary in Japan.
GABON MASK
Pibibuze Mask
Kwélé people
Polychrome semi-hard wood, aged patina
Height: 25.4 cm
Collected before 1930
Former Tristan Tzara collection
Inv. 1019-80
I have stored in my heart
all the phases of the Moon
my mouth has been effaced
only my eyes can express themselves
in the incense of the nights of waiting
to show the Sun
and all its lost children
the road of their deliverance
Michel Butor
This pibibuze (man) mask belongs to a group of four different kinds of masks, three of which represent animals (a gorilla, an elephant and an antelope). Without horns or appendages, the fourth kind, “man”, is rarer. These four kinds of masks would have been ordered at the birth of a boy and embody a spirit of nature that would accompany him during various rites of passage throughout his life. Most often blind, these masks were probably not intended to be worn on the face of a dancer, but rather to be displayed in cult houses or held during ceremonies.
MEXICO MASK
Fragment of a Mask-shaped censer
Maya civilisation. 550-950 AD
(According to the thermoluminescence test: 100-800 AD)
Ceramic
Height: 25.5 cm
Former John Huston collection
Inv. 502-6
My nostrils feel the incense
that will rise on the steps
restoring life to my old age
so I may distribute
my benedictions on the town
whose pyramids rise above
the singing trees
in the lands of the wind
Michel Butor
Believed to be a piece of the chimney of an “incense burner”, this fragment is not so much a “mask” as an extremely sensitive portrait. The features of the bearded face, sculpted with considerable attention to proportion and volume, suggest the artist’s deliberate attempt at naturalism. This portrait seems to be of a Maya noble with a pearl fixed to the cartilage of his nose. The ornament is characteristic of the old classical period.
PAPUA NEW GUINEA MASK
Brag Mask
Low Ramu area
Hard wood, pigments, Conus sp. shells
Height: 40.8 cm
Inv. 4099-32
Your astonishment at existing
amidst so much fortune
is given shape by me questioning
the sound of the rain on the leaves
to murmur secrets to you
that will help you last
a few months or a few years
to tell your adventures
Michel Butor
This mask has the zoomorphic and anthropomorphic characteristics of masks from the mouth of the Sepik river; its diverse forms all have a long nose evoking a bird’s beak or an insect’s proboscis. This mask is a masculine representation of aggressive ancestor-spirits, one of whose functions was to devour adolescents during their initiations before returning them to their mothers by vomiting them up again, transformed into young adults. Until the white man arrived, each male was integrated into society through initiation rites at which he learned how to separate himself from the world of women and mothers and forged a personal relationship with his powerful masculine ancesto

r.
2007 – FIRST SET
CHINA MASK
Death Mask
Qidan people, Liao dynasty (907-1125)
Gilded bronze, excavation patina
Height: 24.5 cm
Former collection of Michael Steinhardt
Inv. 221-52
The light is concentrated
in the gold where I close my eyes
through my eyelids I see
the sleep of my descendants
I slip into their dreams
to give them my news
and light up the impasses
where adversity lies in wait
Michel Butor
It is difficult not to be moved by the pure beauty of this death mask. This serene face with its closed eyes invites one to reflect on life after life. It testifies to the extreme refinement of the Liao dynasty, founded in 907 by the Qidan chief Yelu Abaoki – later the Emperor Taizong – and totally destroyed two centuries later. Although they adopted a number of Chinese customs, and despite the strong influence of Buddhism, the Qidan, who came from Inner Mongolia, preserved their own culture and Shamanistic beliefs.
CONGO MASK
Death Mask
Republic of the Congo, upper reaches of the Likuala River
Mahongwé or Ngaré people
Semi-hard polychrome wood (black, white and red)
Height: 35.5 cm
Former collections of Aristide Courtois (before 1930)
Charles Ratton and MoMA, New York (1939)
Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva
Inv. 1021-33
They wanted to deepen the shadow
where you will set your eyes
so that the fl ashes of sun
and flames will penetrate further
with their arrows to tattoo
not only your face
and the skin of your whole body
but the secrets of your night
Michel Butor
This is one of the most celebrated masks of African art and a prime example of Central African sculpture. It was long believed that this mask had inspired Picasso for one of the figures in his painting, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon. This theory was abandoned around 1980 when some in depth research showed that the mask was imported into Europe after the celebrated work had been painted. Stylistically, little is known about this mask, which is unique in its genre. Nobody knows which people in north-western Congo – the Ngaré or Mahongwé – actually made it.
ALASKA MASK
Frontal Mask
North-west coast of the United States, Tlingit Indians
19th century
Polychrome wood. Height: 18 cm
Collected by Lieutenant Emmons around 1900
Former collection Heye Foundation
Museum of the American Indians, New York
Inv. 921-A
If I stick out my tongue
it is to show the trust
I have in you
following your movements
on the sea between storms and in
forests between vast conifers
on which your genealogical myths
will be inscribed
Michel Butor
The Tlingit are an Amerindian people from the north-west coast of America. This small mask, adorned with tufts of horse hair across the top, was fastened to a large fibre headdress sometimes covered with animal skins and worn on the forehead by shamans when they performed their functions as medicine men. Through their intervention with supernatural powers, they healed the sick, drove off sorcerers and protected the village against outside aggression. According to tradition, young men training to be shamans had to leave their community and spend eight days searching for their vision. At their approach, animals stuck out their tongues, which were believed to contain the power of their spirit.
INDONESIA MASK
Facial Mask
Wayang Topeng theatre
Island of Java, Indonesia
Polychrome wood (white, black, several shades of red)
Height: 21 cm
Former collection of Professor Czeschka, Hamburg;
acquired before 1918
Inv. 330-A
Bewitcher I observe
the shapes of girls who pass
my eyebrows are like a bird
ready to take wing and circle
its prey, my moustache
like a serpent ready
to strike at the least sign
of weakness or assent
Michel Butor
You only have to look at it: the distinction of the face, the elegance of its features, the sophistication of its hairstyle, the richness of its ornaments, the subtlety of its beard, the refinement of the make-up, the delicacy of the arabesques – a dominant motif in Javanese art – everything points to the noble character of the person represented by the mask. Sculpted in light wood and painted with bright colours, this mask bears a close resemblance to the face of the virtuous Prince Panji, an heroic figure of Wayang Topeng, Javanese masked theatre. Traditionally, performers of Wayang Topeng hold their masks by gripping a leather strip between their teeth. As they say nothing, it is left to the narrators and singers to develop the plot and recount the adventures of the heroes.

MÉTIERS D’ART “LES MASQUES”
THE ART OF ENGRAVING
Over and above the power with which it is invested, a mask is designed to hide the face or be worn on the head. Its shape is linked to its function. But how could it be reduced in size and made to fit into the confined space of a watch case without losing its evocative power? What material could be used to reproduce its particular patina and capture the effects of time? How could the illusion of gold coated with verdigris be reproduced? And, most important of all, what could be done to remain faithful to the spirit of these masks without betraying them once again? As the project advanced, the answers to all these questions became more and more insoluble. Between the birth of the idea and its fruition, there was so much unrewarded effort, so many unsuccessful tests, so many roads leading nowhere. But giving up was not on Vacheron Constantin’s agenda.

Dissatisfied with the initial results, the team approached the work from a new angle. To see the project through, it patiently pushed ahead with its research, drawing closer and closer to the models by devising new techniques, which brought together the past and present, tradition and cutting-edge technology.
Perfect Miniaturisation
Creating a faithful reproduction of the masks through miniaturisation was the first obstacle. The Barbier-Mueller Museum had agreed to entrust a few precious pieces of its collection to the Manufacture on the strict condition that they produced a very faithful reproduction of the original masks.

To scrupulously respect the proportions, the traces made by the original sculptor’s tools as well as those left by time, the engraver could have chosen to follow tradition and create a hand-made miniature prototype by copying the original. It was not the expertise that was lacking, however, but the time needed for devising several different methods to produce the best rough model and work out the best angle for presenting it. The slightest modification, though, would have meant starting all over again.

That is why Vacheron Constantin made a three-dimensional image of each mask. By putting the plans together on a computer, they were able to modify the volumes point by point and find the best angle for fitting the whole mask into the watch case while safeguarding the harmony of its forms.

The Material
The question arose whether to use the original materials or not. Some of them had to be rejected right away because they were impracticable: for example, the very structure of wood makes it unsuitable for such small sculptures, and copper oxidises. As the aim of a collector’s watch is to defy time, the company chose gold, a noble, precious metal which can be finely worked, coloured and treated.

The Decor
Once the form of the prototype had been defined and the first model made, it was the engraver’s turn to exercise his skills, working delicately on the reliefs, embossments and hollows and chiselling away at the rough patches to reproduce the details on the masks. It took all his expertise to render such effects as the exact marks left by the sculptor’s burin, to carve out the eyes, paying close attention to the effects of time, and to follow the same contours made by others centuries earlier and on distant continents.

The Colour
The final challenge was the treatment of colour: how could the appearance of the masks be respected and, for some of them, how could their delicate polychromy be recaptured without falling into the trap of creating a simple painted reproduction? The team first tried out different types of gold, for example choosing a very warm-coloured one to achieve a tint similar to old brass. Then the team turned its hand to alchemy, using galvanic and chemical formulae found in old books. A chemist’s bench was recreated complete with traditional alembics. To reproduce the effect of copper covered with verdigris, for example, the engraver developed a novel system of protective coating: small deposits of copper on gold, which were then oxidised. Within no time at all, the mask looked thousands of years old.
VACHERON CONSTANTIN AND THE BARBIER-MUELLER MUSEUM
AN ALLIANCE OF ARTS
Some partnerships are so clearly written in the stars that it seems amazing they have not been formed before. Yet it took a special encounter for Vacheron Constantin and the Barbier-Mueller Museum to find an opportunity to fuse their destinies in a collection of timepieces transcended by primitive art.

This cooperation would doubtless never have developed, were it not for the values we share with the Barbier-Mueller family. Its collection of primitive art, exhibited for over three decades in Geneva and for the past twelve years in Barcelona, expresses a powerful attachment to cultural diversity and a pioneering spirit that is greatly cherished by our watch company.

In devoting his life to enriching the family collection of tribal art that was initiated over a century ago, Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller has shown himself to be one of the most visionary collectors of his generation.

A tireless discoverer of unsuspected artistic treasures, he has given Geneva a museum of immeasurable importance. We are very proud to be associated with this 32-year-old institution.

It was in partnership with the Barbier-Mueller Museum that Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art “Les Masques” collection was created in 2007.

Paying tribute to the Métiers d’Art watchmakers, and more particularly to engraving, this collection has covered a three-year period – from 2007 to 2009 – with a set of four models produced per year, each issued in a limited edition of twenty-five. These twelve watches are faithful reproductions in miniature of twelve original masks from the private Barbier-Mueller collection that come from four regions of the world rich in tribal art.

June 2009: on the occasion of the vernissage of “A Legacy of Collecting: African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva”, an exhibition backed by Vacheron Constantin, held at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and dedicated to the masterpieces of the family collection, we have the great honour and privilege of presenting the complete Métiers d’Art “Les Masques” collection: a grand finale, as it were, serving as a tribute to Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller and as further confirmation of our attachment to culture, travel and discovery.

Culture, because Vacheron Constantin is a company whose creations are all inspired by artistry. Travel, because it is in the company’s genes. Those acquainted with the history of our manufacture know just how much its founders, and particularly François Constantin, loved to travel the globe to share their horological expertise. And as for discovery, that is clearly an integral part of our philosophy. If it had not constantly challenged existing technical, aesthetic and cultural assumptions and explored uncharted territory, Vacheron Constantin would doubtless not have been able to look back on over 250 years of watchmaking know-how.

Born of a philosophical reflection on places near and far, the past, present and future, and on the process of constant renewal, the Métiers d’Art “Les Masques” collection pays a glowing tribute to the human spirit. It eloquently conveys the respect we feel for craftsmen in general, and for the remarkable work accomplished by those at Vacheron Constantin in particular.

We would like to take this opportunity to offer our sincere thanks to Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller for the confidence he has shown in us, and to Michel Butor, of course, for his poetic contribution to the creation of these exceptional timepieces. While his words invite us to remember that the faces – or the masks – reflect the stirrings of the soul, our watchmaking skills lend them an additional dimension. In this particular case, they are the physical expression of the movement that makes a watch beat, always governed by a determination to “do better if possible, which is always possible”.
THE BARBIER-MUELLER MUSEUM IN GENEVA

Geneva is privileged to be home to one of the largest and most beautiful collections of primitive art in the world: the Barbier-Mueller Museum.

To better appreciate the pioneering spirit that inspired Josef Mueller, the collection’s founder, we have to look at his early artistic emotions. When he was twenty, he used his entire year’s earnings to buy a painting by Ferdinand Hodler and, soon afterwards, went to Paris where he met the wellknown art dealer Ambroise Vollard. On the latter’s advice, he acquired an important and remarkable painting by Cézanne, the portrait of the Jardinier Vallier, painted in 1905 at the very end of the artist’s life. Cézanne was to become the father of modern painting. It was only by overcoming many difficulties that Josef Mueller rapidly built up a collection that, by 1918, already included seven Cézanne, five Matisse, five Renoir as well as paintings by Picasso, Braque and many others by celebrated masters.

It was in the 1920′s that Josef Mueller discovered tribal art. During this period, there was a craze for all things exotic: African art, La Revue nègre and… Josephine Baker. Josef Mueller bought whatever took his fancy. Besides works of lesser interest, he acquired some magnificent pieces from leading Parisian dealers, one of whom, the celebrated Charles Ratton, sold him the Téké Tsaayi mask from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which had belonged to André Derain. Today, the collection includes many works that were once owned by those who, like Derain, Vlaminck, Tzara and Lhote, had discovered African art.
It was in 1952 that Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, a young man intent on building up his own collection, arrived on the scene. He was 22 when he met Monique, Josef Mueller’s daughter. They later married and amalgamated the two collections that, thanks to him, have flourished ever since.

In May 1977, three months after Josef Mueller’s death, Monique and Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller opened the first museum to bear their name in Geneva. They opened the second, in Barcelona, in 1997. 2007 was a milestone year with the 100th anniversary of the Barbier-Mueller collection, the 30th anniversary of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva, and the 10th anniversary of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Barcelona.
JEAN PAUL BARBIER-MUELLER

Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller was born in Geneva in 1930 and greatly influenced by a father who was passionate about everything: poetry, philosophy, music (one of his compositions was written in Seattle, in the United States, in 1985) and science (getting his Ph. D. in biology at the age of 47). After studying law in Geneva and London, Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller was called to the Bar, but soon afterwards went to work for a leading bank and, then, at the age of 28, became director of an investment company. In 1960, he started up his own company, the Société Privée de Gérance, which specialises in property development and management for institutional investors and the construction of social housing. A collector like his father-in-law Josef Mueller, he specialises in “non-western” arts. In 1977, he and his wife Monique opened the Barbier-Mueller Museum. It has organised over seventy-five exhibitions, presenting different parts of the family collection. These exhibitions were organised in collaboration with leading museums in Europe, America and Asia, and the majority had important catalogues. Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller himself conducted or financed research projects in Sumatra, the Ivory Coast and Guinea. In May 1997, the Museu Barbier-Mueller d’Art precolombí opened its doors in Barcelona in the Nadal Palace. Inaugurated by Her Majesty Queen Sofia, the museum was the outcome of an enthusiastic response from the City Council to an offer to lend around 400 works of pre-Hispanic American art on a long-term basis. The Nadal Palace was restored for the purpose of exhibiting these pieces. Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller also amassed a collection of early editions of Renaissance poets, which he began at the age of 13 and for which he gradually published a catalogue. He and his wife established the Barbier-Mueller Foundation in 1997 at the University of Geneva for the study of Italian Renaissance poetry. The Foundation received an endowment of around 200 volumes from the 15th and 16th centuries, a donation of considerable cultural value. New acquisitions have significantly enlarged this collection, which contained around 500 volumes in 2005. A catalogue was published by Professor Jean Balsamo in 2006. Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller has been made Commander of the Legion of Honour and Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters in France, as well as Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and Officer of the Royal Order of Isabella the Catholic. Recently, His Majesty the King of Spain awarded him the insignia of Grand Officer of the Order of Civil Merit. He is also an Officer of the Ivory Coast’s Order of Merit.
MICHEL BUTOR

Michel Butor was born on 14 September 1926 in the north of France. His father was an administrator for the Chemin de Fer du Nord and passionate about drawing, water-colour painting and wood engraving. In 1929, Michel Butor’s family moved to Paris. With the exception of 1939-1940, the year of the “phoney war”, which he spent in Normandy, he did all his schooling there. After studying literature and philosophy at university, he left Paris to teach in the Nile Valley, in Egypt. He had been fascinated by writing for a long time when his first novels were published by Minuit. He continued his travels, which were both professional and exploratory, visiting Greece, Switzerland and the United States. He was appointed professor at the University of Geneva’s Faculty of Arts and published various essays, narrations, poems and short stories. He then worked with painters, musicians and photographers who were keen to bring different forms of artistic expression together. He has written two works for the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Le Congrès des cuillers and Un Jour nous construirons les pyramides, the latter to coincide with the publication and exhibition of a collection of pre-Pharaonic Egyptian artefacts. He continued to travel, visiting Japan, Australia and China. He retired in 1991 and now lives in Haute-Savoie, in France near Geneva.

Vacheron Constantin creates a unique with manual movement of the flat world skeleton and decorated by hand represents the top of the decorative arts and crafts so dear to the Geneva.

For 10 years Vacheron Constantin continues its support of Action Innocence by donating a unique timepiece which can be auctioned for an exceptional profit. This auction is to be held during Action Innocence’s gala dinner on Thursday 18 June in Geneva.

This is a unique timepiece is designed specifically for the event. The movement entirely skeleton, this decorated handmade called “Ottoman” wink in the theme of the evening.

The watch – case is round with a diameter of 30mm and a thickness of 5.48mm – in polished 18K white gold, on top has a convex sapphire crystal along with a transparent background that you can admire the famous mechanical caliber 1003 manual winding SQ stamped the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva, with a case thickness of only 1.64 mm. The hours and minutes are indicated by needles that are on a timer painted in black.

The gift of a timepiece to celebrate the master clock and excellent finish to Vacheron Constantin – marks the importance given by the watch manufacturer for for the daily work of the association. Which is currently chaired by Valerie Wertheimer helps preserve the dignity and integrity of children both at home and abroad.

This summer the Overseas is dressed in grey a monochromatic theme from bezel to dial to strap for a sporty, dynamic and elegant timepiece.

The Geneva-based manufacture Vacheron Constantin is presenting two new Overseas models this year: an Automatic and an Automatic Chronograph. It has opted for sophisticated and trendy grey, giving full scope to this popular color with a slate grey dial, mouse grey strap, anthracite grey titanium bezel, and steel grey case. An exclusive and elegant combination of tones that suffers no rivalry from any other color.

The Overseas, a reinterpretation of a 1933 model and of the 222 made in 1977, was launched by Vacheron Constantin in 1996. Dynamic, sporty and dedicated to travel, this new line quickly became the faithful companion of globetrotting enthusiasts looking for technical and aesthetic excellence. With their clean, naturally elegant lines, these highly technical products became an instant hit. The strong invitation to travel is conveyed today by the whole collection, whose appeal lies in its classical and dynamic character, remarkable functionality and exemplary legibility.

In 2004, Vacheron Constantin launched a new generation of the Overseas line, one that was resolutely more sporty and modern. It included a men’s model, a ladies’ model and a chronograph model, all in steel. The cases were slightly larger and a new bracelet of half Maltese cross links was developed.

In 2006, to celebrate the line’s 10^th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin presented the Dual Time, an extremely useful function for busy travellers.

In 2009, Vacheron Constantin introduced titanium in its Overseas line in two new models: the Automatic and the Automatic Chronograph. The steel case, titanium bezel and slate grey dial gave the watch a particularly sporty and elegant character. The manufacture also used titanium in 2008 in its Quai de l’Ile collection.

Titanium was discovered in 1791 by the Reverend William Gregor, a British mineralogist and chemist, and named after the Titans in Greek mythology. An industrial production process was developed in 1939 by a metallurgist and chemist from Luxembourg, Wihelm Justin Kroll. Titanium is a light, bluish grey metal that is resistant to corrosion, erosion and fire. It is widely used in the aeronautics, aerospace, chemical and medical industries and recently in the watch industry where it is used for its contemporary look, imposing and original quality, and light weight (density 40% lower than steel), all perfectly in line with the expectations of new customers of technical Haute Horlogerie.

The cases of these two new models, each with a generous diameter of 42 mm, incorporate all the identifying features of the Overseas collection: sleek lines, a bezel inspired by the Maltese cross, hourmarkers and screwed-down pushpieces for the chronograph version, white luminescent hourmarkers, water resistance to a depth of 15 ATM, the equivalent of 150 metres, and, of course, the emblematic Overseas motif of the three-masted sailing ship, the Amerigo Vespucci, engraved on the caseback.

Besides its classic hours, minutes and seconds functions, the Overseas Chronograph has two counters – 30 minutes at 3 o’clock and 12 hours at 9 o’clock – and an oversized date window below 12 o’clock.

The automatic mechanical movement – the 1226 calibre for the mechanical model, the 1137 calibre for the chronograph – is enclosed in soft iron which gives it 100% protection from the all-pervading effects of magnetism that can affect the rate and precision of a watch.

Every watch is delivered with two straps, one in mouse grey alligator, the other is in black rubber.

Vacheron Constantin was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron. This makes it the oldest watch manufacturer in the world with an uninterrupted history. Besides being a young businessman, Vacheron was also a talented craftsman. In 1770 his company created the first complication, and nine years later he designed the first engine-turned dials.

The son of Jean-Marc Vacheron, Abraham, took over the family business in 1785. During this period the company was able to survive the French Revolution (1789-1799). Later, in 1810, the head of the company becomes the grandson of the founder Jaques-Barthélemy. He was the first to initiate the company’s exports to France and Italy.

Later, Jaques-Barthélemy realized that he was not able to handle his business alone. In order to travel overseas and sell the company’s products, he needed a partner. Consequently, in 1819 François Constantin became the associate of Vacheron. The company continued its activity under the name “Vacheron & Constantin”.

François Constantin traveled around the world and marketed watches. Thus he helped the company to open new markets. The main market was North America. The company’s motto (which remains today), “Do better if possible and that is always possible”, first appeared in Constantin’s letter to Jaques-Barthélémy. The letter was dated July 5th, 1819.

In 1839 Vacheron & Constantin hired Georges-Auguste Leschot. His job was to supervise the manufacturing operations. Leschot was an inventor and his creations turned out to be successful for the company. His inventions had a great impact on the watchmaking industry in general. He was the first person to standardize movements into Calibers.

In 1844 Georges-Auguste Leschot was awarded with a gold medal. The Arts Society of Geneva highly appreciated his pantographic device, a device that was able to mechanically generate specific watch parts. This invention pushed Vacheron & Constantin forward much further than other watchmakers.

Later, after Constantin’s death in 1854, and Vacheron’s death in 1863, the company was taken over by a series of heirs. At one point, the company was headed by two women.

In 1862 Vacheron Constantin became a member of the Association for Research into non-magnetic materials. Later in 1885, the company created the first nonmagnetic timepiece which included a complete lever assortment made of materials able to withstand magnetic fields. Its construction included a balance wheel, balance spring and lever shaft that were made of palladium, the lever arms – in bronze and the escape wheel was in gold.

In 1877 “Vacheron & Constantin, Fabricants, Geneve” became the official name of the company. In 1880, Vacheron & Constantin started using its symbol, which is kept till nowadays, the Maltese cross. The latter was inspired by a component of the barrel. The part had a cross-shape and it was used for limiting the tension within the mainspring.

Advertising from 1896 promoting their observatory trial results

Advertising from 1896 promoting their observatory trial results

In 1887, was reorganized into a stock company. For the remarkable achievements of the company it was awarded with a gold medal at Swiss National Exhibition. The event took place in Geneva in 1887.

The first boutique in Geneva was opened by Vacheron Constantin in 1906. This store can be seen today on Quai de l’Ile. During the Great Depression Vacheron & Constantin found itself in a difficult situation and the only one to bring hope was Charles Constantin. He became the head of the company in 1936 and it was the first time since 1850s that a representative of the Constantin family received the position of Vacheron & Constantin’s president.

When the World War II occurred the company’s sales considerably decreased. However, Vacheron & Constantin was able to come back on the watch market due to Georges Ketter.

After 200 years in the watch-making industry Vacheron & Constantin proved that it is still among the leaders in creating innovations. To outline the beginning of the 3rd century of its watchmaking the company created Patrimony – the world’s thinnest watch which had only 5.25mm thickness.

In 1970 the “&” was dropped from Vacheron & Constantin.

Vacheron Constantin is the company that some watch enthusiasts consider to be the creator of one of the most expensive wristwatches, which was entitled Kallista. It was made in 1979 and its initial price was $5 million. Today, however, the watch is valued at about $11 million. Kallista had 118 emerald-cut diamonds. It took about 6,000 hours for the watch masters to make this watch and about 20 months for the best jewelers in the world to enrich the watch.

When Georges Ketter passed away in 1987, Vacheron Constantin changed hands. However its sales improved and today the company produces about 20,000 timepieces per year. In 1996 the entire share capital of the company was bought by Richemont Group.

The beginning of the 21st century market Vacheron Constantin’s new sports line called Overseas, which was introduced in 2003. In 2003 a new collection from Vacheron & Constantin was launched. The name of the collection is Egérie and it is the first one to include watches for women. It’s hard to choose between them and Movado Watches

The Richemont Group named, in October 2005, Juan Carlos Torres as the Chief Executive Officer of the Swiss watchmaking company. Vacheron Constantin is considered to be company that was able to create one of the most complicated wristwatches in the world entitled Tour de I’lle. It was created in 2005 to mark the anniversary of 250 years of Vacheron Constantin. The watch includes 834 parts and 16 horological complications. It was only available through the Vacheron Constantin shop in Geneva, Switzerland and sold for more than $1 million.

In 2004 Vacheron Constantin opened its new headquarters and Manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva.

In 2007 Vacheron Constantin introduced the Metiers d’Art ‘Les Masques’ collection of timepieces featuring the miniature reproductions of primitive art masks. The Company selected twelve masks from a private museum collection and reproduced the masks on a small scale. The miniaturized masks are featured in the dial center of every watch from the ‘Les Masques’ collection