By Love Blomquist

I always felt that Vacheron Constantin deserved to stand in the limelight that its more notorious rival Patek always has. After all, there’s not that much difference between the identities of the two brands: high end conservative stylings with a sport model or two (the Nautilus and the Overseas respectively). Patek just happens to be considered the end-all be-all in the luxury watch world, while VC vies for attention from prospective buyers of brands like A. Lange & Söhne, Breguet and so on. While certainly not a poor market segment to be in, I hope the Richemont-owned company further elevates to the timeless status that Vacheron Constantin deserves.

Notably, another characteristic that sets VC apart from Patek is its willingness to produce timepieces that are a little more, shall we say, out there. Whether or not this is beneficial with regard to the brand’s identity (wicked tongues will tell you that Rolex’s success is mainly due to more or less staying the same for decades) is hard to tell, and time will probably do such. As it stands today, the only thing you really can do is judge the more eccentric offerings by themselves.

Luckily, they are a feast for the eye. A prime example is the Malte Tourbillon that turned up on JamesList just last week. Sporting a hand-wound 1790R caliber, this rose gold tonneau beauty features a tourbillon bearing the Maltese cross, the symbol of Vacheron Constantin. Its diameter is only 36mm but obviously wears a lot larger because of the art deco shape. The in-house movement has a power reserve of 45 hours

http://blog.jameslist.com/2010/james-pick-vacheron-constantin-malte-tourbillon/

Here is the watch on Iconic Watches for a closer look …

www.iconicwatches.co.uk

Iconic watches is extremely pleased to have this beautiful watch in stock.  It really is one of the most stunning watches I have ever seen and is just fascinating to watch with its rotating Maltese cross tourbillon movement. (see video below)

In a horologists terms, a tourbillon or ”whirlwind” is an addition to the mechanics of a watches escapement that counters the effects of gravity by mounting the escapement and balance wheel in a rotating cage, in order to negate the effect of gravity when the timepiece (and thus the escapement) is rotated. Its hard to believe that the movement was1st devised in 1795 by the master watchmaker  Abraham-Louis Breguet.

The Vacheron Constantin Malte Tourbillon Regulator invisible setting watch accommodates the hand-wound 1790R caliber, visible through a transparent sapphire crystal case-back. The completely finished-by-hand movement has been designed and manufactured in-house.

The movement boasts exquisite finishing – it is embellished by Cotes-de-Geneve patterns on bridges, fine chamfering on edges, and beveled or finely polished screws and jewel sinks. The movement, with a balance frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour, gives an advantage of a40-hour power reserve.

Some facts are below:

Mens Size
Model 30066/000R-8816
Mechanical Wind Movement
36mm Diameter
Leather Strap
Rose Gold Watchcase
Features: Hand Wound Movement, Hours, Minutes, Tourbillon, Power Reserve Indicator, Date

http://www.iconicwatches.co.uk/vacheron-constantin-malte-tourbillon-30066-000r-8816.html

Here is a quick video of a Platinum version working, look at the maltese cross!

Iconic watches has this item instock ready for Next day delivery at the reduced price of £68000 some 18% off.

A very exciting time piece.