Vacheron Constantin Puts Six Non-Horological Crafts on Animal Kingdom Dials

Vacheron Constantin has issued six concept watches under its One of Not Many Crafts Programme, each pairing an independent artisan with an animal subject on a 42 mm gold case. According to Revolution Watch and WatchPro, the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom set uses crafts rarely housed under a watch crystal: featherwork, flameworked glass, micro-origami, gold embroidery, cotton-paper sculpture and wood marquetry.

Shared case and movement

All six pieces use self-winding calibre 2460 G4, introduced by the maison in 2005 and already used on other Métiers d’Art tributes. Hours, minutes, day and date appear on four colour-matched discs through apertures at the dial edge, leaving the centre free of hands. The calibre runs at 4 Hz with a 40-hour reserve. Cases measure 42 mm by 12.9 mm, in 18K white or pink gold, water-resistant to 3 bar. A 22K gold rotor, visible through the sapphire back, is hand-engraved with motifs based on artisans’ tools.

Artists worked with Vacheron Constantin watchmakers inside a 4 mm gap between dial and crystal. The maison did not publish prices, edition sizes or retail availability; the watches are labelled as concepts. For another 2026 Swiss chiming-calendar announcement in a conventional gold dress case, see our report on the Patek Philippe Calatrava Chiming Alarm 5322G.

The six commissions

• Feathersnake: more than 200 fragments from seven lophophore feathers on silk paper; goose feathers for foliage; about 250 hours including prototypes; custom micro-scalpel from a reshaped needle.
• Glassoctopus: 3.5 mm-high sculpture over a hand-guilloché blue gold dial; development of at least a year; four candidate octopi before selection.
• Oraygami: six rays on brass stems of mixed height; folding with fingers, nails and a toothpick, without magnification; more than two years of development.
• Tigerbroidery: 9K yellow- and white-gold wire segments under 1 mm; ceramic-coated copper for stripes; 0.25 mm needles; about 210 hours to prepare, stitch and mount.
• Papercroc: 300 gsm cotton paper for the crocodile, 250 gsm for foliage; brass matrices heated to 60–70°C for embossing; composition about 3 mm high.
• Woodenwings: circular background marquetry, layered sculpted veneers for the body, feather-by-feather wing that approaches the crystal.

WatchPro noted the project as a turn toward crafts outside the maison’s in-house engraving, enamel, guilloché and gem-setting workshops. Revolution Watch placed the animals in a longer Vacheron line that includes an enamelled serpent pocket watch of about 1826, a scarab pendant of about 1910, 1996 Audubon enamel watches and the 2022 Les Cabinotiers Tourbillon Joaillerie Hippocampe. Readers tracking other 2026 Swiss anniversary complications can also see Breguet’s four watches for 225 years of the tourbillon.

FAQ

Are the six watches for sale?
According to Revolution Watch, Vacheron Constantin described them as concept watches and did not disclose pricing, quantities or commercial availability.

Why use calibre 2460 G4?
The four-aperture layout keeps hands off the artwork. The same calibre has already served other Métiers d’Art tribute series, including a Louvre-themed set.

How tall can the dial work be?
Artisans were limited to roughly 4 mm from dial surface to sapphire. Several animals sit around 3–3.5 mm high so they clear the crystal while remaining three-dimensional.

Sources: Revolution Watch, 28 August 2026; WatchPro, August 2026; Vacheron Constantin materials cited therein.