Ora ïto’s Vacheron Constantin watch revives 1950s aesthetics.
Ora ïto returns with a recent Vacheron Constantin timepiece design under the Patrimony collection. The self-winding watch shines in yellow gold, paired with a burgundy calfskin strap. The dial mimics the Japanese zen gardens, with infinite ripples expanding out from the center. Gone are the numbers or symbols for the minutes as Ora Ïto replaces them with ‘pearls’ or dots colored in yellow gold.
For the hour markers, sharp-tip pyramids point back to the dial’s center. Below the watch’s hands, at six o’clock, displays the date along with the metallic transferred Vacheron Constantin logo under the sapphire crystal. It’s a vintage-style monochrome watch designed by the familiar collaborator of the Swiss brand, and the recent model marks the 20th anniversary of the Patrimony collection, first launched in 2004.
Ora Ïto draws influences from astronomy for the design of his Vacheron Constantin Patrimony watch. In the French designer’s words, the circular movement of light refers to the Baily’s Beads, ‘a spectacular phenomenon that accompanies an eclipse of the sun by the moon,’ he adds. It’s through this that the golden ripples and pearls for the minutes appear on the yellow gold dial, harking back to the constant motion in the galaxy.
When owners flip their yellow gold Patrimony watch, they find a caseback made of clear sapphire crystal, letting them see the inside of their timepiece. There’s no need to manually wind the self-winding watch, and striped patterns appear on the watch’s bridges, a nod to the Côte de Genève style. The rotor, which is part of the self-winding mechanism, is made of openworked gold to reveal the Maltese cross symbol.
The Vacheron Constantin Patrimony watch by Ora Ïto is also inspired by the aesthetics of the 1950s. It’s also the era when the Swiss brand released its Calibre 1003 in 1955, dubbed the world’s thinnest movement at the time, coinciding with the 200th anniversary of the company. In 2004, Vacheron Constantin launched the Patrimony collection, drawn from these ultra-thin movements. Some of the key features the series is based on include a round case with a slim bezel and a refined dial that’s slightly domed.
The slender and curved hour markers with baton-style hands are present too, as well as a ‘pearl’ minute track, which is a decorative style for marking the minutes around the edge of the dial. Ora Ïto steps in here, the face of the collection since 2019. He revives the 1957 Patrimony model for his recent design, modernizing it in a way using yellow gold. His touch comes through with the concentric circles in the dial, a distinctive feature that can set it apart from its predecessors.