I have to be honest with you: I was very afraid by this Patrimony Contemporaine Excellence Platine when I read the Press release. 42mm!!! For a watch with a thin bzel, without a second hand... I found the Vacheron decision to propose a version with an enlarged case of this Patrimony Contemporaine quite surprising. I was expecting to see a watch with the famous "fried egg" syndrome, you know, when a watch has a large diameter and a thin height...

And when I wore it, it was a relief. Don't expect from me to tell you that this watch is the most balanced one around. In fact, there is something funny with it: at the same time, the Vacheron team decided to enlarge the case and the designer started to work to reduce the feeling of size!





They managed to do it and it was not an easy task.

The reasons of this achievement are:

- the size of the indexes: they are long and thin and they contribute a lot in the reduction of the perceived size.
- the sand-blasted dial: a smoother dial would have been a mistake here. Sand-blasting "breaks" the uniformity of the dial. It is far from being monotonous.
- the shape of the dial by itself: it is not flat, it has downward curves close to the bezel.
- the shape of the lugs: they are short and curved making the strap very close to the case improving the feeling of "density" of the watch.
- the shape of the case: it is not straight and its complexity makes it very appealing.
- the case is thin but not than thin and absolutely not ultra-thin (7,3mm) so the ratio (diameter/height) is still acceptable.





So when I put the watch on my wrist, I was very surprised: I almost had the same feeling than with the 40mm. Yes, you feel the difference but no, the watch doesn't seem to be less unbalanced.

The hands seem to be very simple but they aren't. First of all, they are efficient: you read the time very easily. Secondly, they both have two facets creating a nice light effect on the dial.

But... there is always a "but" in this kind of story, I found the 1120 movement a bit too small for the case size. Obviously, as this Patrimony Contemporaine is not a small second watch, you don't feel it dial side which is good news. The bad idea IHMO comes from Vacheron decision to put a see-through caseback.

Of course, maybe it would have been a pity not to see the very refined work on the 1120. I'm a fan of the Vacheron touch: the finishings are flawless and discret at the same time. Nothing too eye-catching, nothing similar to a X-Mas Tree, you always stay in this elegant style with the quality criteria of the Geneva Seal. The work on the rotor is beautiful... and useful: its hollowed finishings make the movement more visible and give the opportunity to enjoy a big Maltese cross.





But in the context of this 42mm watch, I would have prefered a solid caseback with, for example, a nice engraving. The movement is not that small with a 28,40mm diameter... but it is for a 42mm watch.

We find again the classic performances of the 1120 with its unusual frequency (2,75hz), its 40 hours of power reserve (maybe a bit short now in the 2011 context).

Now, let's talk about the famous hallmark on the dial: the "PT950". Good idea or not? I don't have a clear answer about it. I find it far from the Vacheron way of thinking. Vacheron is not a brand which plays in the "show off" area. So why putting this hallmark on the dial? On the other side, it adds a detail on the dial which breaks its symmetry. So why not after all? It remains quite shy on the dial.





With this Patrimony Contemporaine Self-Winding Excellence Platine (Vacheron won the contest of the largest watch name !!!), Vacheron managed to enlarge the size of the case without disturbing the overall balance. The watch looks smaller than it is actually despite a thin bezel. This LE of 150 watches is slender, elegant and more complex than it appears at first glance. But I would have prefered a solid caseback even if the 1120 is well finished.

I would like to thank a lot the Vacheron France team.

Fx