Vacheron Constantin's "World's Most Complicated Watch" Updated for the First Time in Nine Years

This is a series that explores the art of luxury watchmaking through Vacheron Constantin's exquisite masterpieces. This time, we will take a look at the grandeur of ultra-complicated timepieces, using the world's most prestigious Grand Complication, "Les Cabinotiers The Berkeley Grand Complication," unveiled at Watches & Wonders Geneva (W&WG) 2024.

Les Cabinotiers The Berkeley Grand Complication, a complicated watch with 63 functions

　The world's most sophisticated Grand Complication. The "Les Cabinotiers The Berkeley Grand Complication," announced by Vacheron Constantin at the 2024 World & Working Week, is a masterpiece worthy of its name. Until now, the title of the world's most complicated watch had been held by the company's "Ref. 57260," announced in 15, but this timepiece has been broken by the company's own hand.

　The Ref. 57260 reference is a commemorative piece celebrating the 260th anniversary and features 57 functions. However, the latest model incorporates 63 functions and took 11 years to develop. Even the Ref. 57260 took eight years to develop, and no watch surpassing it was released in the nine years since its release. This means that development of Les Cabinotiers The Berkeley Grand Complication began before the Ref. 57260 was completed, suggesting that the two watches are sister models.

　In fact, William R. Barclay, the owner of the Ref. 57260, commissioned Cabinotier to create a "sister" watch. He is the owner of an insurance holding company and also serves as chairman of the New York University Board of Trustees. This is likely an attempt to subtly reveal the name of the client, which would normally remain secret. This is similar to how the super-complex timepieces that symbolized the era were commonly referred to by names such as Packard and Henry Graves.

　The most significant difference between this watch and the Ref. 57260 is the elimination of the Jewish calendar and the replacement with a Chinese perpetual calendar. The lunisolar calendar is unique in its irregularity, making it extremely difficult to mechanically replicate. The Chinese calendar has three variations in the length of a year: 353, 354, or 355 days in a normal year, and 383, 384, or 385 days in a leap year. While a Chinese month is 29 or 30 days long, the length of the year is 11 days shorter than the solar calendar. To compensate, a 13th leap month is added every two to three years. This occurs seven times in a 19-year period (the same as the Metonic cycle). This arrangement results in six variations in the length of the year.

　Furthermore, the watch simultaneously displays a 60-year cycle based on the five elements, the ten heavenly stems, and the twelve earthly branches, as well as a lunar calendar based on the 24 solar terms and the age of the moon. To reiterate, this watch is a perpetual calendar based on the Chinese calendar. The difficulty of analyzing the gear train is exemplified by the length of the 11-year development period. The next adjustment to this calendar mechanism will be required in the year 2200. This means that the program for the 180-year cycle has been completed, and simply changing one gear will start the next 180-year cycle.

　It is not possible to fully describe this watch in the limited space available, but there is no doubt that it is a masterpiece worthy of a museum piece.

Professor Hirota's "This is amazing!"

　The Ref. 57260, released in 2015, was a super complication that will go down in history. I only had the opportunity to see the actual watch once, but I could sense the extraordinary passion of those involved in creating this model, which was created to surpass past masterpieces.

　After the announcement, I asked Vacheron Constantin, the creators of this ultra-complicated watch, in a rather nasty way: What would they do if someone asked them to make an even more complicated watch?

　The answer was, "Unfortunately, that's not possible. We have promised our customers who have signed contracts for the Ref. 57260 that we will not make any more complicated watches for the next 10 years."

　But he had no idea that the same customer had also ordered a more complicated watch.The fact that it took 11 years to develop underscores just how extraordinary this piece is.