JUST like that, it has been 12 years – a full Chinese zodiac cycle – since Vacheron Constantin enthralled us with its first Metiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac Collection, featuring a coiled serpent poised to celebrate the Year of the Snake. 

Quite fitting, then, that the watchmaker chose to reveal its 2024 creation, Metiers d’Art The Legend of the Chinese Zodiac – Year of the Dragon, at the recent Watches & Wonders exhibition in Shanghai. 

Vacheron Constantin shares a long history with China. As Christian Selmoni, the brand’s director of style and heritage, highlights: “Following the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, which put an end to the first Opium War, Vacheron Constantin, already a supplier of exceptional timepieces to court dignitaries, established its first commercial contacts in 1845, in a country we have never left since.”

With the dragon deeply ingrained in Chinese culture as a symbol of power, fortune, longevity and harmony, this timepiece is destined to set collectors’ pulses racing, especially since only 50 pieces will ever be made. 

Two editions were presented, with 25 pieces made of each: One in 950 platinum with a blue alligator strap, and the other in 18-karat 5N pink gold with a brown alligator strap. Both demonstrate the incredible mastery that Vacheron Constantin’s artisans and watchmakers have over their craft. 

To create the arresting dial, the master engraver first has to sculpt a backdrop of cloud motifs. Then the mythical beast, adorned with 300 scales, needs to be brought to life, in a process that requires three days of work. 

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Following that, the master enameller needs to apply the technique of Grand Feu enamelling to imbue the dial with rich colour – deep blue on the platinum model and brown on the pink gold version – without affecting the sculpted dragon and clouds. 

Beating at the heart of this timepiece is the automatic Calibre 2460 G4, which has powered every watch in the Zodiac Collection since 2012. It displays the hours, minutes, day and date in four apertures.