Vacheron Constantin is literally bringing art to your wrist

The watchmaker is furthering its partnership with the Louvre Museum with a new Les Cabinotiers offer.

We often talk about watches as wrist art, and many watchmakers do create unique artworks on the wrist. Whether it’s whimsical like Konstantin Chaykin’s Clowns, Patek Philippe’s Impressionist enamel dials or Glashütte Original’s architecturally inspired engraved movements, they are all unique and original designs. But rarely do we get to see reproductions of actual renowned artworks on a watch. Now, Vacheron Constantin is offering collectors the opportunity to have any work of art from the Louvre Museum on your wrist through its Les Cabinotiers programme.

Les Cabinotiers is the watchmaker’s bespoke service that has all the crafts of its manufacture at your disposal. Each watch is unique; they are never replicated again. Vacheron Constantin began a partnership with the Louvre Museum in 2019, and the following year, it auctioned off a bespoke Les Cabinotiers watch for the museum’s Bid for the Louvre sale, with proceeds going to the museum’s benefit.   

The winning bidder enjoyed a private tour of the museum and the choice of artwork that would be recreated on the watch’s dial. The result is the Les Cabinotiers: Homage to Pierre Paul Rubens, featuring the artist’s masterpiece La lutte pour l'étendard de la Bataille d’Anghiari (The Battle for the Standard at the Battle of Anghiari). This unique piece featured a grisaille and micro enamel dial created using blanc de Limoges as well as 20 different shades of brown, cream, and varying colours to realise Rubens’ mastery of chiaroscuro and bring out the details of the watch.

The watch has a hinged caseback that’s engraved with the words “Cerca Trova” in a calligraphy font which translates to “Seek and you shall find”, an inscription found in the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence and an anagram of the name of its tower, Torre Vacca. The Louvre’s façade is engraved on the oscillating weight of the Calibre 2460 SC (for central seconds) that drives this watch. Engraving is of course another craft practised by Vacheron Constantin.   

Now the watchmaker is offering a similar experience for collectors with its “A masterpiece on your wrist” programme, which will allow you to own a bespoke, unique timepiece with an enamel reproduction of an artwork kept in the Louvre Museum on the dial. This offer includes a private tour of the Louvre in the company of its experts and will give you the opportunity to discover all of the artworks owned by the Louvre, not just the ones on display in the museum. The watch will also come with a certificate of authenticity from the Louvre certifying its reproduction.   

You will have the option of selecting different complications as well on the watch beyond the time-only version on the Homage to Pierre Paul Rubens piece, as well as additional personalisations such as gemsetting, engraving, and more. Obviously, this watch is for the ultra-wealthy, but considering that you’ll have an exclusive watch with a dial reproduction of a famous artwork that cannot be purchased, what price can you put on it?   

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