Vacheron Constantin Overseas Tourbillon

The Holy Trinity of watch brands: Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin. Far less understood than either of its respected compatriots, Vacheron Constantin has a legacy of producing some of the very finest haute horlogerie complications in history — and some of the loveliest. Sports watches came later to VC, as pressure from the new “luxury sport watch” category introduced in the early 1970s forced the storied maison to evolve. Its entry came in the form of the 222, whose design language inspired the current Overseas collection. The Overseas models compete with other watches such as the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, IWC Ingenieur, and Piaget Polo, and often find favor by merit of design, value, and variety of complications. This particular example, an Overseas tourbillon is perhaps the most striking model in the family. Using Vacheron's prized blue dial with its deep hues, and alluring texture, this piece is completed with an incredible tourbillon at 6 o'clock--- a reminder of Vacheron's mastery of high complications--- even as the brand modernizes with sports designs. Powered by Vacheron's Calibre 2160 tourbillon movement with a brilliant peripheral rotor that doesn't obscure the mechanism in spite of its automatic winding utility and 80 hours of power reserve. Robust, functional, and a bit off the beaten path - this is a watch that would have looked fresh in the 1970s, looks fresh now, and will look fresh in another 50 years.