Gentlemen,

I could handle the new Harmony 260th Anniversary Dual Time reference for a long look and wished to share this new very nice model with you.

As you know, the new Harmony family has been unveiled to celebrate the 260th anniversary of the brand. The decoration of the movement is specific to this event with a particularly fine engraving work (balance cock, rotor for the automatic calibers etc...).

The Dual Time version we have here is a smaller interpretation of the cushion shaped case seen in the Men's Chronograph you already know (pictures of some models I shot here: vacheron.watchprosite.com ) and that Sam presented with a post not long ago on our forum (here: vacheron.watchprosite.com ).

Furthermore, the watch is a 625 pieces limited edition (in rose gold as well as in white gold) which is very nice as it allows quite a reasonable number of customers to acquire it. In the mean time, when sold, we can easily imagine that the new Harmony line will propose a more standard decoration (even if this was not announced yet).

On the dimensions' side, the Men's Chronograph Monopusher is 42x52 mm with a thickness of 12.8mm whereas this Dual Time model is 40x49.3 mm and 11.4mm thick. It will certainly please people with a smaller wrist or who are more used to wearing small watches.

Here below, you will notice the caseband and the view from the side is very appealing (at least to me) as we can appreciate its very refined curves. It is of course even more attractive in the metal.

On the dial, you can see the features it is equipped with: a second Time Zone and a Day & Night indicator. They are all operated through the crown.

Something I always liked about Vacheron Constantin is that, though it is a traditional brand, it always developed a unique and original design in at least one model or two: think about the Quai de l'Ile, the American 1921 even the Malte (new) and 1972...

This gives the brand a special taste and allows the watch lovers to distinguish it from the other market actors.

A little detail I like on the pictures is that the Sun and Star of the Day & Night indicator are placed "across" the disk's limit: it looks as if the virtual line was in fact the 2 objects orbit.

So, here, we have a very daring move in choosing a cushion-shaped case for such an event. It would have been so much easier to work on the basis of a classic round watch. I guess, as every daring shapes, it will not please everyone but the few people getting it will do so because they really love it.

And as you can see on this pictures, the watch looks very nice on a wrist and perfectly proportionned.

What I haven't talked about yet is the dial's decoration and colors choice. In the whole family, there are painted blue numerals, sometimes red scales and a very specific aesthetical design choice.

This will certainly be surprising at first but this layout is modern and contemporary. It will need time to get used to it but it is a nice choice imho. This is how VC decided to adapt the usually conservative lines of traditional brands to our modern world, and I think it deserves attention.

The strap is equipped with a deploying buckle and we still have the Maltese cross on the crown.

Even the hour and minute hands have a different shape and the second hand is very long with a significant counterweight. Furthermore, the two subsidiary dials are framed with a thin golden ring. These are interesting details as well as very different from the standards one we are used to seeing.

The caliber (2460 DT) is a new in-house movement (as are the chronograph 3300, 3200) quite nicely though simply decorated. The main remarkable element is the lightly "fleurisanne" engraved rotor, which is inspired by the decoration of a pocket watch designed by Jean-Marc Vacheron back in 1755. We don't have something too busy here, which is a detail I like (please note there is a sticker on the caseback).

It has a small 40 hours power reserve but, for an automatic watch, I guess it is enough.

The movement is equipped with a stop-second feature.

However, the movement's bridges remain quite "normal" and not as interesting as the other models. Of course, it is always difficult to compete with open-worked chronographs' movements.

 

There is also a smaller Lady version of this watch which is diamond set (500 pieces in white gold only, 37x46.6mm, housing the same caliber).

In the end, this new Harmony line is really something I'm quite excited about: aesthetically but also technically as it announces the new Vacheron Constantin in-house movement which were slow to arrive compared to other brands.

If you are interested, this is a limited edition, with a specific decoration and some models are already sold out.

If you plan getting a square or cushion-shaped watch, this is a model to consider.

Hope you liked this little personal review!

Cheers, Mark


- I'd like to thank the Parisian Vacheron Constantin Boutique of the Rue de la Paix in Paris for their welcome and allowing me to admire and discover this new piece -


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This message has been edited by Mark in Paris on 2015-10-28 09:57:55