Introducing Vacheron Constantin Launches The “One of Not Many Crafts” Initiative With A Métiers d'Art Tribute To The Animal Kingdom Sextet

The Feathersnake features “micro-plumasserie”, a collage of lophophore feathers. If you’re like me, this is the moment when you ask, 'just what the hell is a lophophore?' It’s not the filter-feeding set of deep-sea tentacles, but rather the iridescent Himalayan monal bird. They’re mounted against silk paper and surrounded by goose feathers.

Going from land to sea, the Glassoctopus is a 3.5mm-tall glass sculpture that Vacheron Constantin refers to as a “manual form of 3D printing”. The development for the creation and mounting of the sculpture to the dial took more than a year - understandable considering the level of detail.

Simone Crestani, the artist behind the Glassoctopus, talks about the difficulty working at such minuscule scale: “In glassmaking, one usually thinks in centimetres, sometimes even in monumental volumes, whereas here everything had to be controlled to the tenth of a millimetre. Although I had previously created minute glass details, including bees adorning a Venetian-style goblet presented at a previous edition of Homo Faber, nothing had approached the microscopic scale required for this dial.”

We stay below the surface for the next watch, the Oraygami. Like with the remainder, the name offers an insight into the theme and art form used to depict it. Here, Anya Midori precisely folded pieces of paper as small as 9mm using nothing but her fingers and a toothpick, and all without any magnification, folding the manta rays for up to six hours.

For the Métiers d'Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom Tigerbroidery, artist Laura Baverstock uses a silk and cotton base for the 9k gold wire, the whole ensemble stitched directly into a titanium dial plate with precisely cut perforations for structure.

“Vacheron Constantin also challenged me to work with wires containing the highest possible gold content, and, after various experiments, 9-karat gold proved to be a material I could successfully manipulate, although it was the first time I had worked with it. On top of that, I was working on a scale approximately half that of the smallest piece I had ever previously created. This required the development of bespoke tools capable of producing entirely new materials for the project, including miniature gold wires and ultra-fine needles”, Baverstock explains.

Paper-sculpted crocodiles adorn the dials of the Papercroc, with embossed reliefs requiring heating and pressing for those ultra-crisp edges. At just a few millimetres in depth, the main challenge was ensuring the shapes were distinct enough to be set apart from the white backdrop, considering it’s all dependent on the interplay of shadows against white. The crocodile perfectly nestles between the apertures, with extra depth from the superimposed foliage.

Last, but most certainly not least, is Woodenwings. The falcon is a product of 12 different species of wood, including eucalyptus and birch, with hand-carved details that reveal the bird’s feathers.

Anna Le Corno, the artist behind Woodenwings, explains the difficulty in having to ditch her usual woodworking tools: “To achieve this, I had to completely rethink both my tools and my techniques. I also had to learn to work under binocular magnification. This involved sourcing highly specialised instruments as well as creating some custom-made tools myself.”

There are very few brands with the scale of production and the ability to make such unique handcrafts, and in that exclusive club, Vacheron Constantin is at the very forefront. Each of these creations has such an intricate story behind it that it could easily warrant six separate articles... But we'll save some of that joy of discovery for you.

Not that anyone asked, but if I did have to pick one favourite, it would be a very tough choice between Feathersnake and Glassoctopus. The former has just enough flair and colour without being overly shouty, and feather marquetry is some of the most impressive work I’ve ever had the pleasure of coming across in person. On the other hand, I find Glassoctopus difficult to wrap my head around when it comes to the teeny tiny scale of those glass bubbles. Luckily, I don’t think I’ll ever have the pleasure of having to choose.

Brand: Vacheron Constantin
Model: “One of Not Many Crafts” Métiers d'Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom Feathersnake, Glassoctopus, Oraygami, Tigerbroidery, Papercroc, Woodenwings
Reference: 7630A/000G-H206, 7630A/000R-H205, 7630A/000G-H204, 7630A/000G-H207, 7630A/000R-H202, 7630A/000R-H203

Diameter: 42mm
Thickness: 12.9mm
Case Material: 18k white gold (Feathersnake, Oraygami, Tigerbroidery), 18k 5N pink gold (Glassoctopus, Papercroc, Woodenwings)
Dial Colour: Goose and lophophore feathers, silk paper, gold, enamel (Feathersnake); guilloché gold, glass (Glassoctopus); guilloché gold, micro-origami, crystal (Oraygami); silk and cotton embroidery, 9k gold thread, ceramic-coated copper wires (Tigerbroidery); cotton paper (Papercroc); wood marquetry from 12 different species (Woodenwings)
Crystal: Sapphire front and back
Lume: No
Water Resistance: 30 metres
Strap: Calf leather with dial-matching decoration, case-matching buckle

Calibre: 2460 G4, in-house, Poinçon de Genève
Functions: Hours, minutes, day, date; all displayed via apertures
Power Reserve: 40 hours
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 4 Hz
Diameter: 31mm (11 ¼ lignes)
Thickness: 6.05mm
Jewels: 27
Chronometer Certified: No

Price: POA
Availability: TBC
Limited Edition: TBC

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