The Vacheron Constantin Solaria Ultra Grand Complication Becomes the World’s Most Complicated Wristwatch

Celebrating its grand 270^th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin’s bespoke Les Cabinotiers atelier presents a record-breaking watch with no fewer than 41 complications. Still holding the record for the world’s most complex pocket watch, the Berkley, itself beating its own reference 57260, Vacheron now claims the title for the world’s most complicated wristwatch, overtaking the Franck Muller Aeternitas Mega 5 with 36 complications and the Audemars Piguet 11.59 Universelle with 23. Pulling out all the stops, Vacheron unveils its Les Cabinotiers Solaria Ultra Grand Complication, a staggering achievement on all fronts and an extreme exercise in miniaturisation.

Facts & FIgures

The figures speak for themselves. Developed over eight years by one watchmaker, the Solaria has 41 complications spread over two dials, 1,521 components, 13 patent applications, five rare astronomical complications, including the temporal tracking of celestial objects (a world premiere) with a split-seconds chronograph, a perpetual calendar with moon phases and tide measurements, GMT and world time indications and a Westminster minute repeater all packed into the new calibre 3655 housed inside a 45mm white gold case with a height of just 14.99mm – which doesn’t make it a small watch, but still more compact than most deep divers or racing chronographs. While the complications are mind-boggling, the layout is incredibly legible and surprisingly contemporary.

The 41 complications of the Solaria are grouped by function:

Time measurement

• Day and night indication for reference city
• Second time zone hours and minutes (on 24-hour display)
• World time indication for 24 cities
• Second time zone day and night indication
• 3Hz tourbillon with silicon balance wheel (with high Q factor)
• Civil time display module coupled to the base movement

Gregorian Perpetual Calendar

• Perpetual calendar
• Days of the week
• Date
• Months
• Year indication
• Leap-year indication
• Indication for the number of the week within the year (ISO 8601 calendar)
• Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar)

Lunar indications

• Astronomical Moon phases and age of the Moon
• Tide level indicator
• Spring and neap tides indication

Astronomical indications

• Indication of seasons, equinoxes & solstices
• Position of the Sun
• Sunrise time (according to the city of reference)
• Sunset time (according to the city of reference)
• Duration of the day (according to the city of reference)
• Equation of time on tropical (solar) gear
• Culmination time of the Sun (according to the city of reference)
• Height of the Sun above the horizon (according to the city of reference)
• Declination of the Sun, three-dimensional Earth showing the latitude of the Sun in the Northern/Southern hemisphere
• Sidereal hours
• Sidereal minutes
• Astronomical zodiac signs
• Sky chart (according to the city of reference)
• Temporal tracking of celestial objects

Chiming complications

• Minute repeater
• Westminster carillon chime (4 hammers & 4 gongs)
• Choice of hour-only or full chime
• Crown locking system during the chiming
• Double-stop hammer system to limit rebound and optimise transmission of the hammers’ kinetic energy

Split-seconds Chronograph

• Chronograph (1 column wheel)
• 60-minute counter
• Split-seconds chronograph (1 column wheel)
• Isolator system for the split-seconds chronograph

Additional feature

• Power-reserve indication (outer disc at 190°)

Astronomical Complications

Throughout Vacheron’s long and distinguished history, its astronomical complications, capable of synthesising the complexities of the cosmos in a miniature format, are the apogee of mechanical sophistication.

The Solaria simultaneously displays civil, solar and sidereal time, each with a specific gear train. Civil time is displayed on the front dial with central hour and minute hands, a world time indication on a rotating city disc, and a second 24-hour time zone with a day/night track in the sub-dial at 3 o’clock. The second gear train displays sidereal time on the caseback, and the third gear train displays solar or tropical time on the front dial in the equation of time function in the sub-dial at 6 o’clock.

Still covering the astronomical functions, all compressed into a module just 2.8mm thick, the Solaria also delivers the position, the height, the culmination and the declination of the Sun on the front dial in the counter at 6 o’clock. The position of the Sun is staged on the periphery with a yellow circle rotating on a sapphire disc, indicating sunrise and sunset times and the length of the day calibrated to the city of reference. Rounding out the information, a rotating disc in the counter delivers the zodiac, seasons, solstices and equinoxes.

world premiere

Where things get interesting, though, is the world premiere function inside this Vacheron Constantin Solaria, which allows the owner of the watch to track a celestial object. Linked to the split-seconds chronograph, the Solaria can calculate the time it takes for a specific constellation or a star to appear in the sky.

Displayed on the reverse, the green and red split-seconds chronograph hands are anchored in the dial’s centre, representing the celestial vault. Once a star has been selected, the user activates the chronograph hand to reach the green reference marker, stops the first hand, and lets the second hand continue until it reaches the current position of the star and then stops it. Mounted on the same axis as the hands, the rotating disc with a green triangle indicates the hours needed for the chosen star to appear in the viewer’s field of vision. If ‘regular’ chronograph times are required, there is a 60-minute counter at noon and a peripheral graduation of seconds.

Perpetual Calendar, Moon and Tides

Coming down to more terrestrial preoccupations, the Solaria is equipped with a Gregorian perpetual calendar with all indications compressed into the counter at noon on the front dial, with the week (1-52) and date on the periphery and the day (1-7) in green in a small round aperture to the left of the sub-dial. The counter at 9 o’clock is dedicated to the phases and age of the Moon and has an accuracy of 122 years without correction. Closely associated with the Moon, the spring and neap tides are also displayed.

Westminster Minute Repeater

Seven of the 13 patent applications filed concern the Westminster minute repeater mechanism integrated into the base movement along with the chronograph and tourbillon regulator. Accommodating a chiming mechanism in a case with so many components vying for space without increasing the thickness is challenging, but so is obtaining optimum resonance. Solutions involved attaching the gongs to the middle case, redesigning the hammers in a more compact shape with increased mass (steel with gold) and positioning them in pairs on either side of the base plate. Using the pusher, the wearer can activate the repeater to chime the hours on demand or the full sequence with hours, quarters and minutes.

Miniaturisation

The Vacheron Constantin Solaria is a miracle of miniaturisation and economy. Built by one watchmaker, the 36mm calibre with a thickness of 10.96mm is designed in two connected sections; the base movement combines the time, chronograph and chimes, while an additional 2.8mm mechanism is devoted to the astronomical indications. An ingenious “plug and play” mounting system allows a fast, precise connection and perfect indexing. Two sapphire components facilitate optimal energy transmission, allowing for repeated connection and disconnection without wear.

To keep the movement as slim as possible, the Sun-related functions are managed by a monobloc multi-cam wheel system. On the reverse side, the sapphire crystal with the months and constellations is just 0.6mm thick, and the chronograph hands are aluminium to minimise weight. As you can imagine, the different finishings (9 different techniques) used to decorate the movement are superlative.

contemporary legible faces

The watchmaker was also responsible for developing the 18k white gold case with eight correctors, two push buttons, two selectors and a slider for the minute repeater. What is striking is the legibility of the Solaria. The four counters on the main dial compress the information yet retain impeccable legibility.

Playing with different shades of white, black and grey and sunburst, sandblasted and satin-polished finishings, the contemporary face of the front dial delivers a formidable amount of information with ease. Extra features like the gold hemispherical Sun and the dome representing the Earth in the sub-dial at 6 o’clock and the touches of red, yellow and green to indicate different functions add to the watch’s charm.

The same occurs with the caseback, which has a rotating celestial vault disc and concentric indications related to the astronomical and chronograph functions. Like a petrol gauge on a car dashboard, the red and green power reserve indicator is featured on the periphery to save space.

A masterpiece on every level, the Vacheron Constantin Solaria Ultra Grand Complication is a unique piece and its price has not been disclosed – but do expect a hefty 7-figure tag. For more details, please visit vacheron-constantin.com.