Vacheron Constantin Overseas Grand Complication Open Fake Watches
High-end watch manufacturer replica Vacheron Constantin, which celebrates its 270th anniversary this year, made a surprise announcement today (May 13th) with a new product. For the first time in its representative sports watch collection, Overseas, it has introduced a new product with a Grand Complication specification that encompasses a minute repeater, perpetual calendar, and tourbillon, as the name suggests. Although the third-generation Overseas collection, which was renewed and launched in 2016, included high watchmaking models such as the Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin, Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton, Tourbillon, and Tourbillon Skeleton, the newly introduced Overseas Grand Complication Openface is the first to add a minute repeater function.
This is understandable. Minute repeaters, which feature a slide lever on the side of the case to activate the striking mechanism, are structurally difficult to water-resistant. That’s why most minute repeater watches are non-water-resistant, and it’s hard to find even a 30m water-resistant watch, which would be standard for regular watches. Nevertheless, Vacheron Constantin, which has mastered all kinds of complications, must have felt the need to expand its outstanding technical prowess to the Overseas collection, a sports watch, as a Maison that is more dedicated than anyone else to producing minute repeaters. Thus, after about a year and a half of research and development, the company succeeded in commercializing a new case that maintains a slim profile relative to its function, secures space for the minute repeater on the case back, and guarantees 30m water-resistant.
The Overseas Grand Complication Open Face is made of grade 5 titanium for its case and bracelet, which is lightweight and strong but also does not cause skin allergies and is therefore human-friendly. At first glance, you might think it is made of platinum or white gold, which are precious metals, not titanium, but the overall level of finishing of the case, which is satin-brushed and polished with great care, proves that it is a high-end manufacturer. The case has a diameter of 44.5 mm and a thickness of 13.1 mm, which is surprisingly thin considering that it is a watch with a grand complication specification that condenses three main complications.
The dark blue PVD-coated and brushed display counters and flanges on the sapphire crystal dial were placed to provide a contrasting effect with the outer titanium material while considering readability. It gives off a similar feeling to the series of open-face watches that have been actively introduced recently through the Overseas Tourbillon Skeleton or Traditionnelle collections in the same collection, but its functional complexity makes it clear that it is a very special model at first glance. The Maison has been using the open-face concept to further maximize the complexity of mechanical fake watches since it first applied the openwork design to a pocket watch with an astronomical calendar function in 1918. In addition, the open-face design exposes the plates and bridges that are colored dark gray with NAC (N-acetylcysteine) galvanic treatment, and the main wheels and lever-related parts that are finished with a silver-tone rhodium coating, thereby more clearly revealing the individuality of Vacheron Constantin’s high watchmaking movements that are differentiated from other brands. Meanwhile, all hands, including the hour markers (indexes) and counter hands, are made of luxurious 18K white gold, and the center of the hour and minute hands is coated with Super-LumiNova, a luminescent paint that is inseparable from the character of a sports watch.
Three openworked subdials indicate each calendar, while a small sapphire disc at 12 o’clock and a hand indicate the leap year cycle. Incorporating a perpetual calendar, the watch will theoretically require no adjustment until February 2100 as long as it is functioning properly. And through the openworked dial at 6 o’clock, you can admire the dynamic tourbillon mechanism, featuring a large tourbillon cage shaped like the Maison’s emblematic Maltese cross, together with a separate small seconds hand that completes one rotation per minute.
To encompass a minute repeater, a perpetual calendar and a tourbillon, the Maison has used all the know-how it had amassed for the Tour de l’Île, a monumental wristwatch featuring a total of 16 complications, to develop an entirely new in-house manual-winding calibre for the Overseas Grande Complication Open-face, the 2755 QP, on the occasion of its 250th anniversary in 2005. Housed in a movement measuring 33.9 mm in diameter and containing 602 components and 45 jewels, the 2755 QP calibre beats at a relatively slow rate of 18,000 vibrations per hour (2.5 Hz) and has a power reserve of around 58 hours. This exclusive movement can be admired not only on the dial but also through the transparent sapphire crystal case back.
In particular, you can see the practical power reserve indicator added to one side of the bridge and the key parts related to the minute repeater consisting of two gongs and hammers on the upper part. You can see the Maison’s concerns in many places, from branching out from the legendary Tour de l’Ile to being reborn as a completely new type of grand complication caliber. The movement thickness of only 7.9 mm is surprising even when you see it again. First of all, the secret to its slimness is the extremely thin design of the perpetual calendar module. In this regard, the technical achievements made through Les Cabinotiers Grande Complication Bacchus presented in 2022 and Les Cabinotiers Dual moon – Grand Complication presented the following year in 2023 had a decisive influence. As for the minute repeater function, which announces the time audibly by striking the hours, quarters and minutes, the rhythm of the repeater mechanism is regulated by an independent centripetal regulator device that is a successor to the so-called centripetal strike governor that first originated in the Tour de l’Isle. Operating extremely quietly, this regulator smoothes the flow of energy released from the repeater spring by means of two centripetal weights that act as motor brakes on the rotating shaft. It can also be seen that the choice of titanium case was intended to maximize the quality of the chiming sound.
The Overseas Grande Complication Open Face (Ref. 6510V/110T-128C) is a limited production product that is only released for a certain period of time, although the quantity is not strictly set. On one side of the caseback, you can see the Geneva Hallmark (Geneva Seal) certifying that it is a high-end movement made in Geneva, as well as the special emblem engraved to commemorate the 270th anniversary of the company, making it even more special to own. The watch comes with a grade 5 titanium bracelet as a base, and two straps (blue alligator leather and blue rubber) that can be easily interchanged without tools via the interchangeable system are provided, allowing you to enjoy the charm of the Overseas collection, which is the strap quality. Please note that the retail price of the Overseas Grande Complication Open Face has not been set yet.