Vacheron Constantin Unveils “The Quest of Time” Astronomical Clock and Watch for 270th Anniversary

Few watchmaking houses can look back on a history spanning 270 years. Marking such an extraordinary milestone requires more than a timepiece; it calls for a creation that embodies heritage, creativity, and mastery. In the frame of its 270th anniversary celebrations, Vacheron Constantin presents an exceptional object – not a watch per se, but a singular, exceptional horological work that showcases its unique capabilities in technical innovation, craftsmanship, and métiers d’art. La Quête du Temps (The Quest of Time in English) required 7 years of development, and 7 patents have been filed. Made of 6,293 mechanical components and 1,020 components for the habillage, this masterpiece features 23 complications. Driven by 158 cams, its automaton can make 144 different gestures. This milestone in the brand’s partnership with Le Louvre will be the centrepiece of “Mécaniques d’Art” exhibition at the museum from 17 September to 12 November 2025. And if you cannot make it to the Louvre, a métiers d’art wristwatch “Tribute to the Quest of Time” is released in a 20-piece limited edition to celebrate this exceptional creation.

The Quest of Time Astronomical Clock

Unveiled to celebrate the brand’s anniversary and a milestone in its partnership with Le Louvre, The Quest of Time is an object that is difficult to define, transcending watchmaking and its traditional expressions. It is an astronomical clock that combines a timekeeping instrument, the traditions of Haute Horlogerie, artistic craftsmanship and the kinetics of an automaton.

As explained in the brand’s press release, “The automaton takes the form of a humanistic Astronomer, whose choreography not only indicates the time but also invites viewers to contemplate the beauty and mysteries of the cosmos and the astronomical phenomena that lie at the foundation of mankind’s ability to measure time.” Monumental in both scale and presence, it is over a metre high. The automaton is choreographed to perform three different sequences, lasting for a minute-and-a-half in total, which can be activated on demand or programmed.

Such a complex creation could only be a collective endeavour bringing together the manufacture’s team with specialists in their own field. The automaton was conceived with François Junod, the famed automatier from Sainte-Croix. The clock mechanism and its casing in collaboration with L’Épée 1839. Astronomers from the Geneva Observatory were consulted. The artistic decoration of the masterpiece was entrusted to master artisans. The techniques used include gem-setting, marquetry of hard stones and mother-of-pearl, rock crystal inlay, grand feu enamel, guillochage, high-relief engraving and taille douce etching, cast bronze sculpture, and miniature painting on glass.

Altogether, it is rather inspiring to see a watchmaking house embark on such an ambitious project. Beyond any business consideration, it serves as a testament to the brand’s capabilities – a stage on which its skills are preserved, its craftsmanship celebrated, and its creativity encouraged to flourish.

Technical specifications La Quête du temps

Movement: calibre 9270 – 223mm x 262mm – 18,000 vph frequency – 15-day power reserve on 5 barrels + 1barrel for the retrograde moon – 2,370 parts and 148 jewels – Tourbillon escapement – indications: civil time, additional 24-hour rotating hour and minute display, three-dimensional retrograde display of hours and minutes indicated by the automaton, one-minute?tourbillon, day-night indication – perpetual calendar with day month (on two sides), retrograde date, leap years and the four-year cycle – Precision moon-phase display (110 years without correction), age of the moon and rotating three-dimensional moon with retrograde function and internal barrel to power the retrograde function. Sunrise and sunset time, latitude of Geneva, celestial vault, Northern Hemisphere, sidereal time, indication of the seasons, solstices and equinoxes. Astrological zodiac signs – Alarm for the activation of the automaton – Two-sector retrograde power reserve display – Power reserve indication by hand on back dial – Indication of the power reserve for the rapid correction function – Adjustable magnetic brake for daylight saving – Security to prevent setting the alarm in reverse – Rapid one-day correction function with a dedicated barrel – Indication of the power reserve for the rapid correction function – Double safety device for time setting – Barrel to power the three-dimensional Moon, hidden inside the Moon – Adjustable magnetic brake to control the jump of the Moon’s retrograde function- Six safety devices for transport? – Hour and minute indicators descending by gravity on the clock.

Automaton: 1 manually wound barrel – 1 revolving carousel with 3 shafts carrying cams that animate the automaton – choreography on demand or pre-programmable up to 24 hours in advance – Astronomer cast bronze gilded with 18k 3N gold and set with 122 brilliant-cut diamonds, made of 379 components – mechanical memory capturing the civil time information and transferring it to the automaton – Musical sequences with 2 instruments: 1 metallophone and 4 wah-wah tubes; 534 components – 158 cams – 360-degree rotating carousel driving axes and cams managing all the choreography – Acquisition of civil time information from the clock by lateral movement of a system carrying cams – Alarm function for start-up of the automaton: at the desired time – Hand indicating the automaton’s power reserve located on the right of the base seen from the front – Winding of the automaton’s barrel by a handle – Cam reset-to-zero system ensuring that the information is always displayed correctly – Automaton figure animated by tungsten cables attached to the sensor-probes – Automaton’s shoulder formed by a ball-and-socket joint – Musical sequences created by two instruments: metallophone and wah-wah tubes.

Dimensions: 1070mm x 503mm – 1,020 components – 250kg approx.

Tribute to The Quest of Time wristwatch

The wristwatch presented as a tribute to this exceptional object, the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Quest of Time, required three years in development. This double-face creation is released in a 20-piece limited edition. Its new high-frequency Calibre 3670 comprises no fewer than 512 components, and 4 patents have been filed.

It is a “bras-en-l’air” watch (literally “arms in the air” in French), a type of automaton watch in which a character raises its arms to indicate the time, here in a double-retrograde display. The backdrop represents the constellations as seen from Geneva on the day of the Maison’s founding in 1755. It is complemented by a 3D precision moon phase with age of the moon and a double retrograde power reserve indicator indicating the six-day power reserve in two sequential displays – from 6 to 3 and from 3 to 0. The reverse dial features a sky chart that tracks the constellations in real time and displays the sidereal day.

Technical specifications Tribute to the Quest of Time wristwatch

18K white gold case – 43 mm diameter x 13.58 mm thick  – Water resistant to 3 bar – Front: Double sapphire dial, three-dimensional titanium figure with golden treatment, with sandblasted patina finish, titanium 3D precision moon, hand-engraved and with PVD treatment – Back dial in sapphire crystal  – two arc-shaped appliques in 18K gold with opaline finish – 27 applied hour markers in 18K 3N yellow gold – Calibre 3670, manually wound – 5Hz frequency – 144 hours of power reserve – 34 mm (15””) x 7.8 mm – 512 components, including 55 jewels – Double retrograde hours and minutes in continuous ‘display’ and ‘standby’ mode or on demand – 3D precision moon phase and age of the moon – Sky chart – Sidereal day – Double retrograde power reserve – Dark blue alligator leather strap with alligator lining and 18K white gold folding clasp – ‘Poinçon de Genève’ – Limited and numbered edition of 20 pieces

For more information, please visit www.vacheron-constantin.com