The Métiers d'Art Tribute to The Celestial watches celebrate Vacheron Constantin's savoir-faire in the artistic crafts of hand-guillochage and gem-setting. Since the Maison was founded 270 years ago, the mastery of such métiers d'art has been transmitted from one generation to the next, nurturing the Maison's continuing quest for beauty and aesthetic refinement.

Each of the 12 dials depicts a hand-guilloché zodiac sign and its associated constellation, with the principal stars represented by brilliant-cut diamonds. In addition to the guilloché, the four signs representing human figures (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Aquarius) feature opaline details.

The craft of guilloché figurative drawing was developed by Vacheron Constantin's own master guillocheur, going beyond the abstract patterns of classical guillochage to enable the creation of illustrations and thus transform the traditional craft into a figurative art form in its own right. The innovative technique, which calls for great dexterity and precision, involves the creation of a multitude of hand-guilloché triangles formed of densely packed straight lines, with each triangle set at a different angle from its neighbours. To create just one zodiac sign requires approximately 16 hours of intense and conscientious work.

Enhancing the blue colour of the dial and highlighting the gem-setting expertise of Vacheron Constantin's in-house métiers d'art workshop, a total of 96 baguette-cut blue sapphires (~3.87 carats) are set into the bezel and onto the crown, lugs and buckle, requiring 27 hours of gem-setting work. On the bezel, the choice of channel-setting, in which the stones are held between two parallel tracks with no metal separating them, gives the impression that the sapphires are floating, to create an uninterrupted circle of light around the dial. Echoing the linear geometry of the baguette sapphires and the fine lines that form the guilloché motifs, the applied white gold indexes are decorated with a ribbed surface pattern.

For 270 years, Vacheron Constantin's quest for watchmaking excellence has been built on the marriage of technical expertise, fine craftsmanship and finishing. Uniting an Haute Horlogerie movement with intricate, hand-decorated dials, the Métiers d'Art Tribute to The Celestial series represents the highest expression of this philosophy.

The self-winding tourbillon movement, Calibre 2160 comprises 188 parts, yet is a mere 5.65 mm thick – testament to Vacheron Constantin's mastery in constructing ultra-thin complication movements and highlighting its continual pursuit of mechanical and aesthetic elegance.

Each Métiers d'Art Tribute to The Celestial watch bears the Poinçon de Genève, guaranteeing provenance, precision of timekeeping and the finest finishing of both functional and decorative movement components.

The dial of that watch – portraying the Leo zodiac sign in figurative guilloché along with its corresponding, diamond-set constellation – a opened a new territory of artistic expression for Vacheron Constantin.

Celestial themes have been central to Vacheron Constantin since its earliest years. As well as developing a rare degree of expertise in watches dedicated to the influence of astronomical phenomena on timekeeping, the Maison has a considerable legacy of aesthetic and figurative pieces depicting the zodiac.