Vacheron’s instantly-recognizable headquarters is located in Plan-les-Ouates in the canton of Geneva, just a few miles outside the city. This beautiful building is where Vacheron designs and assembles its timepieces, using parts manufactured in Le Sentier and those provided by specialty suppliers.
In the ateliers, movements are assembled to ensure quality and precise fits, then each movement is disassembled, cleaned, and assembled a second time.
Assembled movements then go to the réglage atelier where the escapements are installed and the movements are regulated for timekeeping accuracy using Witschi machines. Movements are adjusted until the meet Vacheron’s standard of 0 to +5 seconds per day average in five positions.
An assortment of finished movements on display.
Our next stop is the complications atelier. Each high complication, such as minute repeaters and perpetual calendars, is assembled, regulated and cased entirely by a single watchmaker.
High complications on display. At the top right is the Patrimony Traditionelle Calibre 2755 Boutique New York unique piece with tourbillon, a perpetual calendar, and a minute repeater. In the video that accompanies this section of the story, you can hear the minute repeater.
Hugues de Pins examines the Traditionelle Calibre 2755 Boutique New York.
Our final stop is the Atelier des Métiers d’Art, where skilled artisans create miniature works of art using enameling, guilloché, engraving, hand skeletonizing, and diamond-setting.
An enamel dial in process.
Sample dials and techniques.
Intricate and complex dragon dials, created for the Hong Kong boutique.
Rose engines for creating guilloché.
An engraver’s bench.
Hugues de Pins admires the work.
On Hugues’ wrist, the Patrimony Traditionelle World Time.
Engraving and skeletonization samples.
Take a video tour of the Vacheron Constantin headquarters (4:18).
