I have been a big fan of watches ever since i was a kid.

I recall saving up my pocket money to buy my first watch, a Timex. It is now long gone but not forgotten. It was a big deal to me because we went to Tanjung Sepat to pick it up.

Over the years, I have owned many watches but unfortunately, I do not have them except for the last 3 or 4 of them.

So, it was nice to hear that one of my favourite brands, Vacheron Constantin have released a new watch, the Reference 57260.

It is hailed as the most complicated watch ever built with 57 complications.

In horology, i.e., the study of time, a complication is just simply a function. So, if a timepiece is able to show the hour and the minute and the second, that is one complication.

Being able to show the date is a second complication, to show the day is a third complication and so forth.

The Reference 57260 is a pocket watch and is huge, about 10cm diameter, and heavy, nearly a kilo!!!

And oh, don’t worry about ordering one in, it’s a custom-made one-off piece costing US$10mil 🙂

Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260

Vacheron Constantin Ref57260 – rear face

Vacheron Constantin Ref57260 – front face

• 6 time measurement functions

  • 1. Hours, minutes, seconds, average solar time (regulator)
  • 2. Three-shaft tourbillon
  • 3. Tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring
  • 4. 12-hour time zone, second hours and minutes time zone
  • 5. 24-city display for each time zone
  • 6. Day/night indication for 12-hour time zone

• 7 perpetual calendar functions

  • 7. Gregorian perpetual calendar
  • 8. Gregorian day name
  • 9. Gregorian month name
  • 10. Gregorian retrograde date
  • 11. Leap year and four-year cycle display
  • 12. Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar)
  • 13. Week to view (ISO 8601 calendar)

• 8 Hebrew calendar functions

  • 14. Hebrew perpetual calendar and 19-year cycle
  • 15. Hebrew day number
  • 16. Hebrew month name
  • 17. Hebrew date
  • 18. Hebrew secular calendar
  • 19. Hebrew century, decade and year
  • 20. Age of Hebrew year (12 or 13 months)
  • 21. Golden number (19 years)

• 9 astronomical calendar functions

  • 22. Seasons, equinoxes, solstices and signs of the Zodiac indicated by the hand on the sun
  • 23. Star chart (for the owner’s city)
  • 24. Sidereal time hours
  • 25. Sidereal time minutes
  • 26. Equation of time
  • 27. Sunrise times (for the owner’s city)
  • 28. Sunset times (for the owner’s city)
  • 29. Length of day (for the owner’s city)
  • 30. Length of night (for the owner’s city)

• 1 lunar calendar function

  • 31. Moon phases and age (one correction every 1,027 years)

• 1 religious calendar function

  • 32. Date of Yom Kippur

• 4 3 column wheel chronograph functions

  • 33. Retrograde seconds chronograph (one column wheel)
  • 34. Retrograde split-seconds chronograph (one column wheel)
  • 35. Hours counter (one column wheel)
  • 36. Minutes counter

• 7 alarm functions

  • 37. Alarm with its own gong and gradual striking
  • 38. Alarm strike / silence indicator
  • 39. Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator
  • 40. Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism
  • 41. Alarm striking with choice of Grande or Petite Sonnerie
  • 42. Alarm power-reserve indication
  • 43. System to disengage the striking mechanism when alarm barrel fully unwound

• 8 Westminster carillon striking functions

  • 44. Westminster carillon chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers
  • 45. Grande Sonnerie passing strike
  • 46. Petite Sonnerie passing strike
  • 47. Minute repeating
  • 48. Night silence feature (10 p.m. to 8 a.m.)
  • 49. System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound
  • 50. Indication for Grande or Petite Sonnerie modes
  • 51. Indication for silence / striking / night modes

• 6 other functions

  • 52. Movement power reserve indicator
  • 53. Power-reserve indication for the striking train
  • 54. Winding crown position indicator
  • 55. Dual barrel winding system
  • 56. Time setting in two positions and two directions
  • 57. Secret mechanism (opening of the button for alarm arbor)

Links

http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/watches-and-jewellery/watches/vacheron-constantins-10m-reference-57260-hailed-as-most-complicated-watch-ever-20150917-gjpg4x

http://www.vacheron-constantin.com/en/home.html

http://reference57260.vacheron-constantin.com/en/the-worlds-most-complicated-watch