Métiers d’Art

Vacheron Constantin and the Louvre have joined forces to create watch-shaped cultural symbols, all with a view to glorifying the great civilisations of ancient times. The name of the collection is Métiers d’Art, an authentic time machine, reproduced in four watches and inspired by the masterpieces exhibited in the Louvre Museum. The result of collaboration between the museum’s teams, and Vacheron’s designers and creators, four models representing four iconic eras of history have emerged, from the Persian Empire and the Egypt of the Pharaohs of the Middle Empire to the Hellenistic period of Greece and the Roman Empire. Challenging in nature, the project has put the skills of craftsmen to the test, as the expressive intensity of the civilisations is embodied in a dial with a diameter of less than 40 mm. Decorated with an ornament inspired by the decorative arts of each culture, the models are enhanced with inscriptions, but it is the final result that is the surprise factor of the watch, combined with the choice of techniques, the talents required for their application, as well as the original composition. All these elements create a spectacular throwback to antiquity, from the colours that are representative of each civilisation to the identifying elements of each culture.

A spectacular throwback to antiquity

The narrative content varies between the four pieces, although the automatic winding calibre is always the same, with four discs indicating the hours, minutes, day of the week and date of the month. The absence of hands was meticulously designed to allow the free observation or even contemplation of the masterpiece. This is an artistic and cultural partnership, in perfect harmony with the exaltation of beauty typically incorporated in the watch brand’s models. Their interest in the past and the value they place on cultural heritage and history, has resulted in an authentic cultural symbiosis, in which the Louvre and Vacheron Constantin give free rein to creativity and gallop through other eras of the past, reaching the present with ambitious projects.