Swiss luxury watchmaker Vacheron Constantin unveiled the most complicated mechanical wristwatch in history at the Watches and Wonders exhibition in Geneva, CNN reports.
The unique model, called Les Cabinotiers The Berkley Grand Complication – Solaria, has a record 41 complications — that is, functions that go beyond the usual time display — more than any other mechanical wristwatch created before.
In the world of watchmaking, complications include functions such as the moon phase, perpetual calendar, etc. But the Solaria goes much further: the watch tracks the Sun's trajectory, its angle and position in the sky, and is also equipped with a rotating dial with 13 zodiac constellations, which allows you to determine when certain stars will be visible from Earth.
The watch took eight years to develop and has a total of 1,521 components. All of them are housed in a 45 mm 18-carat white gold case set with over 200 precious stones, including sapphires. Vacheron Constantin has filed 13 patent applications, seven of which concern the unique striking mechanism, where miniature hammers strike four gongs.
The clock simultaneously displays three types of time: regular 24-hour time, sidereal time (measured by the Earth's rotation relative to the stars), and the solar day, which is adjusted to take into account the planet's elliptical orbit.
"This is a true masterpiece of miniaturization and innovation," said Christian Selmoni, the brand’s Director of Style and Heritage. "The main objective was to bring together all the main complications, timekeeping, calendar, chronograph and chiming, on a single base plate and to concentrate the astronomical functions on an additional plate. Thanks to this construction, it was possible to create a wristwatch with harmonious proportions."
Vacheron Constantin, founded in 1755 and now part of the Richemont group, already holds the record for the most complicated pocket watch, the Berkley Grand Complication, with 63 complications. But since pocket watches can be much larger, developing a wristwatch equivalent has become a much more difficult task.
The Solaria Ultra Grand Complication is not intended for sale; Vacheron Constantin primarily views it as an engineering achievement.