Vacheron Constantin have today (April 14) unveiled their thinnest Overseas watch ever – check it out below.
The new self-winding, ultra-thin movement has been in development for seven years. At just 2.4mm thick, it’s the thinnest Overseas watch ever made.
It contains an impressive 80-hour power reserve with what is being described as “an innovative system designed to enhance performance.”
A statement adds of the Calibre 2550: “Seven years of research and development, aimed at enhancing performance, led to the design of an innovative architecture combining a micro-rotor, a suspended double barrel and a compact single-level gear train.”
The Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin makes its debut in a new watch crafted in 950 platinum and measuring 39.5 mm in diameter.
Vacheron Constantin have a long history when it comes to ultra-thin movements. The Maison has, for decades, explored the miniaturisation of mechanical calibres. In 1955, on the occasion of its bicentenary, Vacheron Constantin unveiled the Calibre 1003, a manual-winding movement measuring just 1.64 mm in thickness, what they described at the time as “a symbol of watchmaking excellence and of the perfect balance between extreme miniaturisation, reliability and finishing quality.”
Before this, in 1968 the self-winding Calibre 1120 was introduced with a height of just 2.45 mm and is still regarded today as a masterpiece for slenderness and the technical solutions it provided in terms of reliability and precision.
A statement added: “The new Calibre 2550 continues in the footsteps of the legendary 1120 while incorporating the Manufacture’s latest technical innovations.
“In keeping with the Maison’s guiding principle ‘Do better if possible, and that is always possible’, the watchmakers and engineers spent seven years developing solutions aimed at improving performance in terms of slimness and autonomy.
“They devised an innovative ensemble composed of three key elements – a micro-rotor, a suspended double barrel, and a compact gear train – enabling this optimisation within a confined space measuring 30.6mm in diameter and 2.4mm in height. A series of rigorous tests, particularly relating to ageing and shock resistance, ensures the reliability and precision of this new movement configuration.”
You can see the watch in more detail here:
The new Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin reference features a case, bracelet and clasp crafted in 950 platinum in a new a first for the collection.
The platinum 950 alloy used contains 5% copper and gallium, a composition still rare in the watchmaking world. Benefiting from a thermal hardening treatment that enhances its mechanical properties, this optimised alloy offers 2.7 times greater resistance than the platinum 950 used in the industry.
The watchmakers added: “With increased strength and hardness, the watch provides improved resistance to scratches and shocks. With its refined, almost minimalist aesthetic, the timepiece features a sunburst satin finished salmon-lacquered dial, complemented by a velvet-finished peripheral minute track.
“The harmonious pairing of platinum with a salmon-coloured dial forms part of the Maison’s heritage, embodied by several historical models from the 1940s. More recently, it recalls the Traditionnelle perpetual calendar chronograph introduced in 2022.
“Following in the footsteps of the ultra-thin reference 2000V in white gold launched in 2016, the Overseas Self-Winding Ultra-Thin features a reduced diameter of 39.5 mm. With a thickness of 7.35 mm, it becomes the thinnest Overseas model ever created. It retains the attributes of the Overseas collection, including three tool-free interchangeable straps.”
See below for a Q&A with Christian Selmoni, Director of Style and Heritage at Vacheron Constantin:
What is Vacheron Constantin’s legacy in the field of ultra-thin calibres?
“At Vacheron Constantin, watchmaking technique has always been guided by aesthetic considerations and a constant pursuit of elegance. This approach has led the Maison to develop recognised expertise in the creation of ultra-thin movements.
“It is also worth noting that although timepieces of extreme slenderness are not complications in the strict sense, they nonetheless represent a major technical challenge. For generations of watchmakers at the Manufacture, particularly since the early 20th century, this quest for thinness has inspired numerous technical achievements and led to several records in this field.
“The key to this process of miniaturisation lies in producing components of extreme thinness while preserving the overall robustness and stability of the calibre — both essential to ensuring chronometric precision. Vacheron Constantin distinguished itself early on in this field, notably with a platinum pocket watch produced in 1931 whose movement measures an astonishing 0.94 mm in thickness. This technical feat was echoed in the 1950s and 1960s with the manual-winding Calibre 1003 and the self-winding Calibre 1120, which marked their era with respective thicknesses of 1.64 mm and 2.45 mm.
“But these are far from the only examples. In the field of complications, the Maison has also distinguished itself with ultra-thin calibres such as the 13-ligne repeater movement developed in the 1940s, measuring 3.2mm in thickness, and its successor, the Calibre 1731, also a minute repeater, with a height of 3.9 mm.”
Does this pursuit of slenderness extend beyond Vacheron Constantin’s classic watches?
“The quest for elegance and refinement – one of the fundamental principles guiding creation at Vacheron Constantin – informs the design of all its watches, not only those considered “dress watches”. Even when developing sports models, the objective remains to preserve balanced aesthetics and a strong sense of harmony in the treatment of shapes and volumes.
“The robustness, functionality and versatility expected of such timepieces are therefore combined with particularly careful attention to case proportions – always kept as slender as possible – as well as to dial legibility and the quality of finishing.
