Vacheron Constantin Metiers d'Art "Les Masques" Watches, 2008 Collection

Vacheron Constantin, one of the world's most prestigious watch manufacturers, has announced the introduction of a new series of "Les Masques" timepieces which will join the brand's Metiers d'Art watch collection.  The four timepieces take their inspiration from the aboriginal artwork of the Barbier-Mueller collection and reproduce primitive masks from Mexico, Japan, Gabon, and Papua New Guinea.

The painstaking creation of each mask--demanding approximately 100 hours---is approached with great respect to the character of the historical originals, utilizing specific techniques and finishing details calculated to duplicate their unique character.  The miniature masks appear upon a transparent sapphire crystal, which reveals the underlying watch mechanism; a poem by French writer Michel Butor has been engraved in a pattern which encircles the mask.  

The Vacheron Constantin Les Masques 2008 watches are the second in a three-part series which was inaugurated in 2007, and will conclude in 2009.  When complete in 2009, the collection will comprise 12 different masks, which represent the continents of Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Oceania.  In addition to a highly limited series of each timepiece, Vacheron Constantin will present one set of four watches, in a special presentation box.  The four watches are presented in pink gold, yellow gold, white gold, and platinum.

Animating the Vacheron Constantin Metiers d'Art Les Masques watches is the self-winding Vacheron Constantin Caliber 2460 movement, which has obtained the Geneva Seal.  The caliber utilizes a system of rotating discs to present the hours, minutes, date, and month in apertures around the dial perimeter.  A sapphire exhibition back exposes the finely decorated movement, whose many aesthetic nuances include bridges with Cotes de Geneve, and a central 22K gold rotor with a guilloche pattern.