To mark Harrods’ 175th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin is inviting devotees of beautiful High Watchmaking to enjoy a unique immersive experience at the heart of the famous London department store.
Titled “Pioneers of the Exceptional”, an immersive experience of High Watchmaking amid the opulent world of Harrods invites visitors to discover the spirit of excellence and innovation shared by the two institutions. Vacheron Constantin will present a single-piece edition Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon – High Jewellery creation in Harrods’ signature colours, representing both an artisanal challenge and a technical feat which will be on show during this unique event from the 19th June to 21st July.
The unique experience leads visitors from a multi-sensory 4D VR experience – “The Exceptional Voyage” powered by xydrobe – to an exhibition of a selection of Vacheron Constantin’s historically significant watches, incorporating archive images and properties from Harrods to create a dialogue between the two pioneers, through centuries and time.
Vacheron Constantin will take over Harrods’ Hans Crescent windows, featuring a series of unique thematic displays, which tells the story of the world of Vacheron Constantin and the Maison’s key collections. This osmosis underlines the collaboration between two brands that share the age-old origins of family businesses, which have become pioneers in their own fields in terms of excellence and innovation.
To exemplify the spirit and shared values between the two partners, Harrods’ 175th anniversary is celebrated this summer through the lens of Vacheron Constantin. The watchmaker is offering to take visitors into the heart of the magnificent London building dating from the early 20th century, a journey that highlights the two partners’ tremendous adventure through the ages.
On the fifth floor, a space has been entirely fitted out to offer visitors a truly immersive experience in the world of beautiful High Watchmaking in Harrods’ iconic colours. The visit begins with a multi-sensory virtual reality experience – “The Exceptional Voyage”, in a 20-seat cinema room inaugurated for the occasion.
Adjoined to the cinema, is an exhibition space inspired by the rarely be seen Harrods vaults and the iconic lift with its doorman, where visitors will discover the Maison’s historic watches and the single-piece edition watch specially created for the event: the Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon – High Jewellery.
Entirely set with 671 brilliant-cut diamonds (totalling approx. 6 cts) on the case middle, lugs, bezel, dial flange and folding clasp, this 45 mm-diameter platinum watch offers a striking contrast between the brilliance of the precious stones and the delicately matt-green mother-of-pearl adorning the mainplate and bridges, a first for Vacheron Constantin. The work of the master artisan essentially consisted in selecting the pieces of mother-of-pearl to be polished, dyed in a process involving several firings in the kiln and cut according to an extremely precise technical plan. The various elements are then inlaid into the mainplate and bridges previously hollowed out in the manner of mother-of-pearl marquetry.
Beating at the heart of this watch is Calibre 1990, an exceptional movement protected by four patents that has benefited from the R&D conducted for the Reference 57260 watch with its 57 complications. An in-house manual-winding movement with a 65-hour power reserve, Calibre 1990 features an instantaneous double retrograde display of time indications coupled with a bi-axial armillary tourbillon.
Operating at a frequency of 18,800 vibrations per hour, the tourbillon comprises two interlocking aluminium cages rotating on two axes at a speed of 60 seconds. The “armillary” part of its name refers to the work of Antide Janvier (1751-1835), who designed an astronomical clock with a moving “armillary” sphere. The regulator of this watch’s biaxial tourbillon is also equipped with a cylindrical balance-spring without a terminal curve, an 1814 invention by Jacques-Frédéric Houriet that gives it a perfectly concentric beat, a guarantee of better isochronism and hence precision.
To book the experience please click here
For more information please visit Vacheron Constantin