VACHERON CONSTANTIN MALTE TOURBILLON PLATINUM TONNEAU

Being a watch lover and an MBA, I have explored the issue of what constitutes value in the purchase of a wristwatch. Of course, value is defined by each collector based on their own calculus, and the realtive weight of the variables change over a collecting lifetime. The bottom line for me, as a collector, is that value sometimes resides more in the top end of a brand's offering than at the lower, less expensive end. Maybe that's counter intuitive, but in the case of Vacheron Constantin, and this watch in particular, I firmly believe it.

Swiss watch manufacturers, like all businesses, are concerned with maximizing profits. What that has meant since the 1990s watch boom is pushing high margin models. In VC's case, that is the Overseas model. Now, the Overseas is a great watch, but it's also steel, produced in quantity, and expensive. This Malte Tourbillon is produced in only a handful of pieces, cased in platinum tonneau case which is used only for this model, and is of course a tourbillon from one of the great Swiss houses. Like a new car, an Overseas will be worth 40% of retail as soon as you exit the store. On the other hand, this Malte Tourbillon will only appreciate over time, especially so given the discount that we are offering it at.

Tonneau case is solid platinum with dimensions of 36mm long by 35.5mm wide. Note that the case length is 46mm long if the lugs are included in the measurement. Sapphire front and display back crystals. Large, solid platinum winding crown. Lugs are the stepped and flared style that defines the Malte case.

Dial is silver with applied hour markers and bold sword hands. The sunken and brushed inner circular area of the dial contains the minute are hour hands. The power reserve indicator and date subdials partly overlap with this center area, while they also overlap with the dial's outer section, which features guilloche. The tourbillon and balance assemblies are visible in the large dial cut-out at the dial's bottom. The tourbillon cage is in the shape of a Calatrava Cross, and has a slender hand attached to it which, since it is mounted to the one minute tourbillon, serves as a seconds hand.

Movement is the Vacheron Constantin Caliber 1790 which is built in a tonneau shape to fit perfectly into watchcase. Non-round calibers are known as "formed", and this is a characteristic of a truly elite watch manufacture, when they make a caliber formed to fit a specific case. The investment to develop a caliber is very high, and to design and build a tonneau shaped tourbillon caliber, knowing they will make very few of them, proves Vacheron's commitment to making exceptional timepieces. This movement is adjusted to 5 positions, heat and cold and isochronism, and features 27 jewels and beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour.

Strap is a handsewn black VC crocodile with a platinum tang buckle (with its own serial number!).