Vacheron Constantin have produced a series of three ten-piece limited editions, paying homage to the great Portuguese explorers Bartolomeu Dias, Vasco da Gama and Pedro Álvares Cabral.
These wonderful timepieces – works of art – evoke a time when the world had yet to be discovered. They retrace the famous epic journeys of the great 15th century explorers who braved the seas and oceans to discover distant horizons.
Crafted in Grand Feu enamel, each dial depicts selected portions of a 1519 map from the Miller Atlas. These three masterpieces of miniaturisation and expertise are driven by the Manufacture 1120 AT movement.
Métiers d’Art Tribute to great explorers – Vasco da Gama
The long journey that took him from Portugal to the coasts of India was one of the most important 15th century discoveries. The Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama (1469 –1524), who left his native country in 1497, was the first to travel from Europe and Asia by sea, following an epic and often hellish journey across the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. After circumnavigating the southern tip of Africa, his fleet of four ships sailed along the coast as far as Kenya before embarking on a crossing towards the Indies, which he reached in 1498.
The sea route taken by its crew is finely traced in red enamel on the dial, each detail of which is a very faithful reproduction of the map appearing in the Miller Atlas. The gaze will naturally be drawn to a ship from Vasco da Gama’s fleet in the dial centre, sails billowing on a stormy sea; or to the circumference of the wind rose and the continents enhanced with gold-coloured enamel powder.
TECHNICAL DATA
Métiers d’Art Tribute to great explorers
Reference
7500U/000R-B687: Bartolomeu Dias
7500U/000R-B688: Vasco da Gama
7500U/000R-B689: Pedro Álvares Cabral
Calibre
1120 AT
Developed and crafted by Vacheron Constantin
Mechanical, self-winding
22K gold oscillating weight with tapisserie decor
32.80 mm (12 ½ ‘’’ diameter), 5.45 mm thick
Approximately 40 hours of power reserve
2.75 Hz (19,800 vibrations per hour)
205 components
36 jewels
Hallmark of Geneva certified timepiece
Indications
Dragging hours, minutes
Case
18K 4N pink gold
41mm diameter, 11.68 mm thick
Transparent sapphire crystal caseback
Water-resistance tested at a pressure of 3 bar (approx. 30 meters)
Dial
18K gold, two-level dial, Grand Feu enamel
Enamelled hour-markers
Strap
Blue Mississippiensis alligator leather with alligator leather inner shell, hand-stitched, saddle-finish, large square scales
Clasp
18K 4N pink gold folding clasp
Polished half Maltese cross-shaped
Limited series of ten timepieces per reference.
Models available exclusively through the Vacheron Constantin Boutiques.
For more information please visit https://www.vacheron-constantin.com