October 2015

Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 Pocket Watch
A world record 57 mechanical complications within the palm of your hand.
Article By Steven R. Rochlin

  Mechanical watch enthusiasts worldwide admire the simplicity of knowing what time it is, yet hard-core lovers of horology constantly seek more knowledge. Wikipedia says that Horology (via Latin horologium from Greek ὡρολόγιον, from ὥρα hṓra "hour; time" and -o- interfix and suffix -logy; lit. "the study of time") is the art or science of measuring time. These measurements are far more than just your typical something-o'clock. Vacheron Constantin has announced their Reference 57260 pocket watch with a world record 57 complications. A complication is anything more than simple time of day. So what does this new pocket watch offer that no other timepiece in the world can achieve? All 57 complications are as follows:

6 Time measurement functions 
1. Hours, minutes, seconds, average solar time (regulator) 
2. Three-shaft tourbillon 
3. Tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring 
4. 12-hour time zone, second hours and minutes time zone 
5. 24-city display for each time zone 
6. Day/night indication for 12-hour time zone

7 Perpetual calendar functions 
7. Gregorian perpetual calendar 
8. Gregorian day name 
9. Gregorian month name 
10. Gregorian retrograde date 
11. Leap year and four-year cycle display 
12. Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar) 
13. Week to view (ISO 8601 calendar)

8 Hebrew calendar functions 
14. Hebrew perpetual calendar and 19-year cycle 
15. Hebrew day number 
16. Hebrew month name 
17. Hebrew date 
18. Hebrew secular calendar 
19. Hebrew century, decade and year 
20. Age of Hebrew year (12 or 13 months) 
21. Golden number (19 years)

9 Astronomical calendar functions
22. Seasons, equinoxes, solstices and signs of the Zodiac indicated by the hand on the sun 
23. Star chart (for the owner's city) 
24. Sidereal time hours 
25. Sidereal time minutes 
26. Equation of time 
27. Sunrise times (for the owner's city) 
28. Sunset times (for the owner's city) 
29. Length of day (for the owner's city) 
30. Length of night (for the owner's city)

1 Lunar calendar function
31. Moon phases and age (one correction every 1,027 years)

1 Religious calendar function
32. Date of Yom Kippur

4 Three column wheel chronograph functions 
33. Retrograde seconds chronograph (one column wheel) 
34. Retrograde split-seconds chronograph (one column wheel) 
35. Hours counter (one column wheel) 
36. Minutes counter

7 Alarm functions
37. Alarm with its own gong and gradual striking 
38. Alarm strike / silence indicator 
39. Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator 
40. Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism 
41. Alarm striking with choice of grande or petite sonnerie 
42. Alarm power-reserve indication 
43. System to disengage the striking mechanism when alarm barrel fully unwound

8 Westminster carillon striking functions
44. Westminster carillon chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers 
45. Grande sonnerie passing strike 
46. Petite sonnerie passing strike 
47. Minute repeating 
48. Night silence feature (10 p.m. to 8 a.m.) 
49. System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound 
50. Indication for grande or petite sonnerie modes 
51. Indication for silence / striking / night modes

6 Other functions
52. Movement power reserve indicator 
53. Power-reserve indication for the striking train 
54. Winding crown position indicator 
55. Dual barrel winding system 
56. Time setting in two positions and two directions 
57. Secret mechanism (opening of the button for alarm arbor)

According to the company, "Reference 57260, bearing the Hallmark of Geneva, is a double-dial horological masterwork of hitherto unimaginable complication and technical innovation. It has been conceived over a period of eight years by a team of three of the company’s master watchmakers.

Made using the classic principles of watchmaking, along with resolutely 21st-century thinking, this watch is an entirely original creation exhibiting a total of 57 complications, several of which are entirely new and unique. The new complications that were required to be incorporated including, among others the multiple calendars and double retrograde rattrapante chronograph, had never previously existed and therefore had to be calculated, designed, and developed from scratch, thus a completely new calibre of movement. Furthermore, the mechanisms of the more familiar complications have been modified, reinterpreted, and redesigned.

The conception and realization of the Reference 57260 watch has required not only a huge leap of imagination, but also an exceptional level of mathematical understanding and craftsmanship. The successful completion of this watch in the 260th anniversary year sets a new benchmark in horology. In addition, the legacy of research and skills developed during its construction is the greatest contribution to the advancement of mechanical watchmaking since the 1920s, indeed in the history of measuring time. The Reference 57260 watch takes its place in a proud lineage of exceptional creations that punctuate history, in particular the history of art, which often stem from the encounter between a major collector who commissions them and the expertise of an artist or a great Maison."

Manufacturer
Vacheron Constantin
www.Vacheron-Constantin.com