Vacheron Constantin Tribute to the Animal Kingdom

In Brief

• Six concept watches, each housing the Calibre 2460 G4 in a 42mm case, with the entire dial surface given over to a single non-horological craft: featherwork, glass sculpting, micro-origami, gold embroidery, paper sculpting, or wood marquetry.
• The series forms part of Vacheron Constantin’s One of Not Many Crafts Programme, which commissions artists from outside traditional watchmaking disciplines to work at dial scale.
• Every dial measures no more than 4mm in clearance between its surface and the sapphire crystal, forcing each artist to develop new tools, new processes, and in several cases entirely new material treatments.
• A 22K gold oscillating weight, hand-engraved with motifs drawn from artisanal tools, is shared across all six references as a unifying signature.

The Founding Idea

Vacheron Constantin‘s relationship with fauna on the dial stretches back to at least 1826, when Reference 10200 appeared as a pocket watch in 18K yellow gold carrying a black-enamelled serpent amid turquoises and amethysts.

That piece, now exactly 200 years old, sits at the beginning of a lineage that continued through the Art Nouveau scarab pendant of 1910 (Ref. 10556), the Chinese lacquer bird of 1923 (Ref. 10222), and the Grand Feu enamel egret wristwatch of 1996 (Ref. 11022). Each generation tested a different decorative discipline. The Tribute to the Animal Kingdom follows that same logic, but extends it outside the Maison’s own workshops entirely.

What the Programme Changes

Six independent artists, none of them trained in traditional horological métiers d’art, were each given a 42mm case and a single brief: bring your discipline onto a dial with no more than 4mm of vertical space beneath the crystal.

“By inviting practices rarely associated with horology onto the watch dial, the ‘One of Not Many Crafts Programme’ expands the creative vocabulary of Métiers d’Art within watchmaking. This approach has encouraged thinking beyond established categories — a form of creative incubation that opens new possibilities for artistic expression within the constraints of watchmaking,” explains Christian Selmoni, Maison Legacy and Style Director.

The practical consequences were severe for every artist. Julien Vermeulen (Feathersnake) built a micro-scalpel from a reshaped needle and could work no more than four hours daily; the slightest tremor displaced feather elements measuring a few tenths of a millimetre. Simone Crestani (Glassoctopus) developed a technique for melting glass rod dot by dot with tungsten tools, a process he described as the most significant turning point in twenty-five years of glassmaking. Laura Baverstock (Tigerbroidery) produced 9-karat gold embroidery wires using tools made in collaboration with British specialist manufacturers, at a scale roughly half that of her smallest prior piece. Anya Midori (Oraygami) spent more than two years developing an original folding sequence from scratch after studying manta ray footage, then dyed the paper herself to achieve the precise shade of blue required. Development on the Glassoctopus alone lasted over a year, with the first prototypes appearing in spring 2025.

Where Each Reference Now Sits

All six watches share the Calibre 2460 G4: mechanical self-winding, 31mm diameter, 6.05mm thick, 40 hours of power reserve at 4Hz, with 237 components and 27 jewels. Time and date are shown through four peripheral apertures, which cleared the dial for artistic occupation and, in several cases, became compositional elements in their own right. On the Woodenwings falcon (Ref. 7630A/000R-H203), Anna Le Corno incorporated the apertures into the sculptural rhythm from the earliest prototyping stage. On the Papercroc (Ref. 7630A/000R-H202), the crocodile appears to settle naturally between them.

Cases are 42mm in diameter and 12.9mm thick, fitted with a transparent sapphire crystal caseback and water-resistant to 3 bar. White gold houses the Feathersnake, Oraygami, and Tigerbroidery; 18K 5N pink gold is used for the Glassoctopus, Papercroc, and Woodenwings. Each strap is embossed with motifs that echo the dial composition, from leaf foliage to octopus tentacles to wave patterns. For collectors in the GCC with a sustained interest in Vacheron Constantin’s decorative output, including recent releases such as the Overseas Dual Time Cardinal Points, the series represents a distinct departure: not a new complication, but a new category of collaboration. Coverage of the broader 2026 release season is available through Watches and Wonders.

Specifications (Shared Across All Six References)

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