- The Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication is the most complicated wristwatch ever made
- It boasts 41 complications, with the in-house calibre 3655 comprising 1521 components
- The timepiece is surprisingly well proportioned given its complex nature, with the white gold case measuring 45mm in diameter with a thickness of 14.99mm
- It follows the Berkley Grand Complication released last year, which holds the accolade of most complicated watch, with 63 complications
The appellation ‘Master of Complications’ may be associated with another luxury watch brand, but Vacheron Constantin has proven that it’s truly worthy of the title. Last year, the manufacture released the Berkley Grand Complication, which was equipped with 63 distinct complications; an impressive display of mechanical watchmaking in its own right, but, at 98mm, more suited to life as an extremely complicated, over-engineered paperweight (or weighty pocketwatch) than a wearable work of art.
Now, the Swiss manufacture has followed it up with the most complicated wristwatch ever made, boasting a massive 41 complications. The new Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication spreads its complications over two sides. Far from being unwearable, the newcomer is housed within a very reasonable 45mm white gold case which measures just 14.99mm thick — that’s thinner than a lot of contemporary automatic dive watches and chronographs on the market.
So, it’ll take an eon to run through every complication on the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, so we’ll opt for a comprehensive overview here. It’s powered by the in-house manually wound calibre 3655, which breaks time into civil (classic 24-hour time), sidereal (23 hours, 56 minutes and 4 seconds; i.e. the time it takes for Earth to complete a full 360° rotation with the sun as a reference point); and solar (taking into account the -16 to +14 minutes differential between the true solar day and 24-hour civil day) time, with a separate gear train for each.
Then, the Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication takes astronomical complications far further than the humble (yet undeniably romantic) moonphase. In addition to tracking the positions of the sun, the timepiece features an entirely new complication. The second dial sees the celestial vault etched into a sapphire crystal; this is combined with a split-seconds chronograph which makes it possible for the wearer to calculate the time it takes for a constellation or a given star to appear in the night sky. The chronograph readings are also displayed on the back of the watch, with a 60-minute counter located at 12 o’clock and a peripheral graduation of seconds, while the two split-seconds chronograph hands hold court at the centre of the dial.
On the main dial, you’ve got typical complications like GMT with a day/night indicator, world time, perpetual calendar, and classic moonphase, as well as the aforementioned civil, sidereal, and solar times. On the inside, a Westminster minute repeater mechanism is integrated into the base movement along with the chonograph and tourbillon. The minute repeater is fitted with four gongs and hammers and will chime the time on demand.
Phew.
Naturally, price is on request and the piece is ultra limited edition.
Price: $POA
Availability: On request
Model: Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication
Case size: 45mm
Movement: 3655 (manual winding)
Water resistance: ATM
Functions: see below
Power reserve: 72 hours
For the truly horocurious (that’s horologically curious. And yes, we did just make that up), here’s the full list of complications according to the brand:
Time measurement:
- Day and night indication for reference city
- Second time zone hours and minutes (on 24-hour display)
- World time indication for 24 cities
- Second time zone day and night indication
- 3Hz tourbillon with silicon balance wheel (with high Q factor)
- Civil time display module coupled to the base movement
Gregorian Perpetual Calendar:
- Perpetual calendar
- Days of the week
- Date
- Months
- Year indication
- Leap-year indication
- Indication for the number of the week within the year (ISO 8601 calendar)
- Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar)
Lunar indications:
- Astronomical Moon phases and age of the Moon
- Tide level indicator
- Spring and neap tides indication
Astronomical indications:
- Indication of seasons, equinoxes & solstices
- Position of the Sun
- Sunrise time (according to the city of reference)
- Sunset time (according to the city of reference)
- Duration of the day (according to the city of reference)
- Equation of time on tropical (solar) gear
- Culmination time of the Sun (according to the city of reference)
- Height of the Sun above the horizon (according to the city of reference)
- Declination of the Sun, Three-dimensional Earth showing the latitude of the Sun in the Northern/Southern hemisphere
- Sidereal hours
- Sidereal minutes
- Astronomical zodiac signs
- Sky chart (according to the city of reference)
- Temporal tracking of celestial objects
Chiming complications:
- Minute repeater
- Westminster carillon chime (4 hammers & 4 gongs)
- Choice of hour-only or full chime
- Crown locking system during the chiming
- Double-stop hammer system to limit rebound and optimise transmission of the hammers’ kinetic energy
Split-seconds Chronograph:
- Chronograph (1 column wheel)
- 60-minute counter
- Split-seconds chronograph (1 column wheel)
- Isolator system for the split-seconds chronograph
Additional feature:
- Power-reserve indication (outer disc at 190°)
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Words by T. Angel
