The anatomy of watches
Singapore — It feels like post-pandemic revenge. I am referring to the reawakening appreciation of quality and luxury items, including timepieces. Horologist Christian Selmoni agrees: “This is a great opportunity to discover or rediscover watchmaking art.”
The most exquisite timepieces were beckoning me into the Vacheron Constantin boutique at the Marina Bay Sands. Inside the newly reopened store, the lineup of watches exhibited the artistry and craftsmanship of the luxury watchmaker. In celebration of the launch of the boutique was an exhibit as well at the nearby ArtScience Museum, called “The Anatomy of Beauty.”
In a cozy lounge within the store, we had a chat with Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s style and heritage director. You could say that Selmoni was meant for his role. He was born into a Swiss family of watchmakers in the Vallée de Joux, one of the historical birthplaces of watchmaking.
Christian has a long personal history with the company. He joined Vacheron Constantin back in 1990, learning the different aspects of manufacturing and sourcing for the company by assuming various positions, from sales administration manager to purchasing manager, to production and purchasing director.
In 2001, he was tasked to bring to fruition Vacheron Constantin watches — from creation to product. He then formed the Product Department, a unit that handles the concept to final prototypes, and product launches of the timepieces.
After nine years, he was appointed artistic director. His responsibilities included “the long-term definition of products and future product tendencies for the maison; its creative aspects as well as the development and consolidation of the Métiers d’Art and Les Cabinotiers workshops, which includes made-to-order pieces.”
Christian was appointed style and heritage director in 2017, a position he holds today. His current focus is to enrich and develop the Maison’s heritage, as well as to extract designs and design elements from the past to nurture Vacheron Constantin’s present and future creations.
The elegant Selmoni casually conversed with us, displaying his rich knowledge of timepieces, the history of watches, trends, and of course, Vacheron Constantin.
The Philippine STAR: Vacheron Constantin is rooted in its ancestry and its expertise of watchmaking since 1755. How can the brand attract and educate a younger market in this digital age to appreciate its history, aesthetics, and specialized craftsmanship?
Christian Selmoni: Precisely. We do this by taking the greatest care of our watchmaking tradition, our history, our knowhow and unique, classic, elegant style. We transpose such qualities in modern, contemporary watches, with various design expressions: Classic, Sport/Elegant, Métiers d’Art and Ladies watches, to mention a few.
In addition, I would like to mention Les Collectionneurs, our vintage offer for Vacheron Constantin classic watches. We are offering genuine vintage Vacheron Constantin watches restored and carefully selected. Some of our clients are young watch collectors, and they are attracted by such creations from the past, which demonstrates our ability, in a way, to transcend time and are showing our legitimacy in both watchmaking technicality and design.
Please give a brief evolution of your timepieces. How are your current watches relevant to the modern lifestyle? What special “functions” do they have that not only provide efficiency, but also enrich the life of the owner of the piece?
We are mastering all aspects of Haute Horlogerie, or fine watchmaking, from simple time display up to grand complications. Our creations combine classic, timeless design with contemporary design and superlative hand-made finishings.
In addition, Vacheron Constantin distinguishes itself by its innovative spirit, in the case, for example, of the Traditionnelle Twin Beat Perpetual Calendar, literally reinventing this complication by offering no less than 70 days of autonomy.
A watch is a form of personal self-expression. In a way, one can tell someone’s personality from the watch he/she is wearing. What do you think are the characteristics of one who chooses to wear a Vacheron Constantin watch?
There are no stereotypes. However, I think that our clients do have —already — some serious knowledge about fine watchmaking. And they expect from us impeccable functionality, elegant and sophisticated design, and of course, exclusivity, as we do not produce so many watches in a full year!
“The Anatomy of Beauty” exhibit held recently displayed the marriage of aesthetics and the superior technical abilities of your watchmakers through time. Please give a brief background on the five horological complications: tourbillon, split-seconds chronograph, retrograde, perpetual calendar and minute repeater.
We decided to choose five aspects of our watchmaking art: the tourbillon speaks about precision and accuracy, the retrograde function is an elegant and complex display of a function, the perpetual calendar is related to the time of the stars, and finally the minute-repeater tells us about this unique time transcription by “hearing the time” and not having a look to a watch dial. It showcases the mastery of Vacheron Constantin in all aspects of fine watchmaking.
For watch enthusiasts, what do you personally recommend to include in their collection and why?
I would say that this is a purely individual choice! As an example, Egérie is our collection dedicated to the ladies’ universe; Traditionnelle and Patrimony are showcasing the classic style of the Maison; while “Fiftysix” could be seen as a retro-contemporary collection, a more relaxed approach to classic watches. And of course I will mention Overseas, our Sport/ Elegant collection and Historiques, in which we revisit iconic models from the past. So there is room to choose the one that would suit ideally to any client’s taste.
The Vacheron Constantin boutique is reopening at the Marina Bay Sands, and you are celebrating this with the “Anatomy of Beauty” exhibit. Do you feel that people will appreciate beauty and craftsmanship, even more so now after the pandemic?
I think that after the pandemic, we all enjoy to meet again in the “real life” and our watches are also objects which create emotion. So yes, absolutely, this is a great opportunity to discover or rediscover Vacheron Constantin watchmaking art.
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The Vacheron Constantin boutique in Singapore is located at the Marina Bay Sands. Locally, the luxury timepiece brand is available at their exclusive boutique in Greenbelt 5. Follow their IG at @vacheronconstantin.
Follow the author at IG @toda_monique.
