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<blockquote data-quote="Hobbes" data-source="post: 2807406" data-attributes="member: 3371"><p>Source: Vacheron Constantin</p><p>Vacheron Constantin Unveils the Most Complicated Watch Ever Made</p><p>Some 2,800 components; 57 complications; more than $5 million</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>We have a new horological king. The Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 pocket watch is the most complicated mechanical watch ever made.</p><p></p><p>Watchmakers and their most type-A clients have long chased the title of most complicated watch. Early 20th century industrialists James Packard and Henry Graves Jr. one-upped one another by commissioning extravagant watches, essentially keeping Patek Philippe in business during the lean years between the two World Wars. Last year, Graves's so-called Supercomplication once again became the most expensive watch ever sold, fetching $24 million and topping the $11 million record it set in 1999.</p><p><img src="https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_ix9NAXtDyBxQ_v1__1x_1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>A complication is any watch function that goes beyond showing the hours, minutes, and seconds. How you tally them for the purpose of doling out a "most complicated watch" award might seem pedantic, but additions big (split-seconds chronograph) and small (power reserve indicator) add upand something that looks like a single feature, such as a perpetual calendar, can technically be counted as multiple complications, because the date, day, and month are each considered to be separate.</p><p></p><p>By Vacheron's count, the Reference 57260 has 57 distinct complications. This is all packed into a case that is 98 mm (3.86 inches) across and 50.55 mm (1.99 inches) thick. It looks like a pocketwatch, but it isn't fitting in your pants pocket soon. It has a solid 18k white gold case and densely packed components inside. It took a team of three watchmakers more than eight years to design and create the 2,800-component Reference 57260 from scratch. </p><p></p><p><img src="https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_ilD5Z1QBSNuU_v1__1x_1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The front of this watch is the side with the gold Roman numerals up top. Starting with the time, the hours and minutes are shown with regulator-style hands, meaning the hours and minutes are on separate axes (1). These are the wide, curvy blue hands. Looking on the back, you'll see the three-axis tourbillon (2) housing a special spherical balance spring and escapement (3). The small gold hands show a second time zone (4), and there's also a world-time indicator (5) and day/night indicator to show you whether the world time is showing A.M. or P.M. (6). Confused yet? We're just getting started.</p><p></p><p>There are three (yes, three) full calendar systems in this watch. The first is a standard Gregorian perpetual calendar (7) that includes displays for the date with a retrograde hand (8), day of the week (9), month (10), and year in the leap year cycle (11). There are also indicators for the number of the day of the week (12) and number of the week in the year (13) in accordance with the ISO 8601 standard calendar. You know, just in case.</p><p></p><p></p><p><img src="https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_iRX2zipUnq44_v1__1x_1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>The second calendar is a Hebrew perpetual calendar (14). This shows the Hebrew name of the day (15), Hebrew name of the month (16), Hebrew date (17), Hebrew secular calendar (18), Hebrew year (19), whether the year has 12 or 13 months (20), where in the 19-year lunar cycle that year is (21), and the date of Jewish holy day Yom Kippur (22), which moves around the calendar.</p><p></p><p>Finally there's an astronomical calendar, which includes a display of the phases and age of the moon (23), a hand that tracks the movement through the Zodiac along with the equinoxes and solstices (24), a rotating sky chart (25), hands showing both hours and minutes for sidereal time (26-27), and an equation of time indicator for telling the difference between sidereal time and solar time (28). Sidereal time tracks the earth in relation to the stars instead of in relation to the sunit's used mostly by astronomers and differs from solar time by plus or minus a few minutes, depending on the time of year. You can also see what time the sun will rise (29) and what time it will set (30) in the watch owner's home city as well as how long the day (31) and night (32) will each be on that day. With the three calendars, you're pretty much out of excuses for running late or missing appointments.</p><p></p><p><img src="https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_iEMz0sVC1SqI_v1__1x_1.jpg" alt="" class="fr-fic fr-dii fr-draggable " style="" /></p><p></p><p>Of course there's also a chronograph, and it's one that's a first of its kind. It's a split-seconds chronograph that uses two hands accurate to one-fifth of a second (33-34) to record the seconds, each with its own column wheel for precise activation. These hands are retrograde, meaning they sweep up and back, instead of all the way around the dial. There's also a 60-minute counter (35) and a 12-hour counter with a column wheel (36) for timing longer intervals. All this also sits on the front of the watch.</p><p></p><p>Completing the grand complication function trio (calendar, chronograph, chiming) are both alarm and time-striking features. There's a single gong and hammer alarm (37) with a strike/silence indicator (38), an alarm-specific power-reserve indicator (39), a system to keep the power from being overwound (40), and a choice of having the alarm strike out the time with the grande or petite sonnerie.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Hobbes, post: 2807406, member: 3371"] Source: Vacheron Constantin Vacheron Constantin Unveils the Most Complicated Watch Ever Made Some 2,800 components; 57 complications; more than $5 million We have a new horological king. The Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 pocket watch is the most complicated mechanical watch ever made. Watchmakers and their most type-A clients have long chased the title of most complicated watch. Early 20th century industrialists James Packard and Henry Graves Jr. one-upped one another by commissioning extravagant watches, essentially keeping Patek Philippe in business during the lean years between the two World Wars. Last year, Graves's so-called Supercomplication once again became the most expensive watch ever sold, fetching $24 million and topping the $11 million record it set in 1999. [IMG]https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_ix9NAXtDyBxQ_v1__1x_1.jpg[/IMG] A complication is any watch function that goes beyond showing the hours, minutes, and seconds. How you tally them for the purpose of doling out a "most complicated watch" award might seem pedantic, but additions big (split-seconds chronograph) and small (power reserve indicator) add upand something that looks like a single feature, such as a perpetual calendar, can technically be counted as multiple complications, because the date, day, and month are each considered to be separate. By Vacheron's count, the Reference 57260 has 57 distinct complications. This is all packed into a case that is 98 mm (3.86 inches) across and 50.55 mm (1.99 inches) thick. It looks like a pocketwatch, but it isn't fitting in your pants pocket soon. It has a solid 18k white gold case and densely packed components inside. It took a team of three watchmakers more than eight years to design and create the 2,800-component Reference 57260 from scratch. [IMG]https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_ilD5Z1QBSNuU_v1__1x_1.jpg[/IMG] The front of this watch is the side with the gold Roman numerals up top. Starting with the time, the hours and minutes are shown with regulator-style hands, meaning the hours and minutes are on separate axes (1). These are the wide, curvy blue hands. Looking on the back, you'll see the three-axis tourbillon (2) housing a special spherical balance spring and escapement (3). The small gold hands show a second time zone (4), and there's also a world-time indicator (5) and day/night indicator to show you whether the world time is showing A.M. or P.M. (6). Confused yet? We're just getting started. There are three (yes, three) full calendar systems in this watch. The first is a standard Gregorian perpetual calendar (7) that includes displays for the date with a retrograde hand (8), day of the week (9), month (10), and year in the leap year cycle (11). There are also indicators for the number of the day of the week (12) and number of the week in the year (13) in accordance with the ISO 8601 standard calendar. You know, just in case. [IMG]https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_iRX2zipUnq44_v1__1x_1.jpg[/IMG] The second calendar is a Hebrew perpetual calendar (14). This shows the Hebrew name of the day (15), Hebrew name of the month (16), Hebrew date (17), Hebrew secular calendar (18), Hebrew year (19), whether the year has 12 or 13 months (20), where in the 19-year lunar cycle that year is (21), and the date of Jewish holy day Yom Kippur (22), which moves around the calendar. Finally there's an astronomical calendar, which includes a display of the phases and age of the moon (23), a hand that tracks the movement through the Zodiac along with the equinoxes and solstices (24), a rotating sky chart (25), hands showing both hours and minutes for sidereal time (26-27), and an equation of time indicator for telling the difference between sidereal time and solar time (28). Sidereal time tracks the earth in relation to the stars instead of in relation to the sunit's used mostly by astronomers and differs from solar time by plus or minus a few minutes, depending on the time of year. You can also see what time the sun will rise (29) and what time it will set (30) in the watch owner's home city as well as how long the day (31) and night (32) will each be on that day. With the three calendars, you're pretty much out of excuses for running late or missing appointments. [IMG]https://www.okshooters.com/data/MetaMirrorCache/assets.bwbx.io_images_iEMz0sVC1SqI_v1__1x_1.jpg[/IMG] Of course there's also a chronograph, and it's one that's a first of its kind. It's a split-seconds chronograph that uses two hands accurate to one-fifth of a second (33-34) to record the seconds, each with its own column wheel for precise activation. These hands are retrograde, meaning they sweep up and back, instead of all the way around the dial. There's also a 60-minute counter (35) and a 12-hour counter with a column wheel (36) for timing longer intervals. All this also sits on the front of the watch. Completing the grand complication function trio (calendar, chronograph, chiming) are both alarm and time-striking features. There's a single gong and hammer alarm (37) with a strike/silence indicator (38), an alarm-specific power-reserve indicator (39), a system to keep the power from being overwound (40), and a choice of having the alarm strike out the time with the grande or petite sonnerie. [/QUOTE]
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