The ancient world in marvellous miniature.Being able to tap the collections of fabled museums like the Louvre, Vacheron Constantin recently revealed the second instalment of Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilisations.
The collection once again comprises four watches inspired by the ancient world, spanning Assyria to the Roman Empire: Buste d’Akhénaton, Lamassu de Sargon II, Athéna de Velletrie, and Tiber de l’Iseum Campense.
Each watch essentially contains a miniature replica of a statue from the Louvre that is surrounded by decoration in a variety of techniques ranging from enamelling to stone mosaic.
Initial thoughts
VC rolls out a well-stocked Metiers d’Art collection every year, and the appeal is varied. The good ones, however, are great, usually combining multiple decorative techniques, artful aesthetic execution, and tremendous appeal.
Boosting its Metiers d’Art programme, VC has inked agreements with world-class museums like the Louvre and the Met, which allow the brand to source inspiration from the vast troves of objects housed in these institutions.
All of that is captured in the latest Tribute To Great Civilisations, which qualifies as amongst the best Metiers d’Art offerings from VC. Each of the watches in the quartet manages to evoke the civilisations and objects that served as inspiration.
While striking from a distance, each watch still reveals an impressive degree of detail up close. Most intriguing is the surprising ability of the tiny elements on the dial to replicate the look and feel of monumental ancient statues.
Each of the miniatures conveys depth, despite being thin enough to fit under the crystal. The effect is enhanced by the window-based displays for the time and calendar that are discreet enough to blend into the dial.
The mythical creature on the dial of Lamassu de Sargon II, for example, is limestone engraved in fine detail that captures the aged alabaster originals that stand in the Louvre. Similarly, Athéna de Velletrie appears three dimensional — it looks like is has more depth than it actually does.
Tellingly, these are limited to 15 pieces each, instead of just five as was the case in 2022, reflecting the popularity of the original series. Fifteen each across four models means 60 in total, which is relatively numerous for this type of watch. That said, the retail price of about US$200,000 each is relatively competitive when viewed against the wider market.
Icons of ancient empires
This is the second Métiers d’Art Tribute To Great Civilisations, after the first quartet from 2022. Though both the first and second editions are similar in many ways, including theme and execution, they are also distinct. Every watch of the first set reproduced ancient script on the dial, ranging from Egyptian hieroglyphics to Latin. The text was on a clear sapphire disc, resulting in a “floating” effect.
This year’s offerings are entirely figurative, giving them a more decorative feel than the 2022 edition. In fact, the 2026 set is different enough from its predecessor that someone could conceivably buy both sets without running the risk of owning watches that are too similar.
The first watch in this year’s set depicts a Roman replica of a Greek statue. Athéna de Velletrie is centred on an archetypal statue of Ancient Rome known as Velletri Pallas — the Greek goddess Athena wearing a helmet. Many examples of this statue survive to this day, but the best known is the specimen in the Louvre, which serves as the basis for this watch.
The Roman statues were all based on a lost Greek bronze, and the specific statue in the Louvre was excavated in Velletri, a district of Rome, at the end of the 18th century. The statue arrived in the Louvre courtesy of Napoleon, who defeated its previous owner, Ferdinand IV of Naples.
Athena’s visage on the dial is actually crafted from the same material used for the original Roman statue: marble from the Greek island of Paros. This white stone is first engraved and then finished with a patina to give it an aged appearance. Although the marble appliqué is barely a few millimetres thick, the perspective and relief engraving give it unexpected volume.
The marble appliqué sits on an enamel dial decorated with stone marquetry. The trio of horses are drawn from a fifth century Greek amphora and are composed of tiny pieces of onyx and mookaite, a type of stone.
Around the dial is a champleve enamel frieze modelled on a krater dating to 460 BC. And right on the edge of the dial is a relief-engraved border modelled on another part of the krater, a type of vessel used for wine making in Ancient Greece.
Lamassu de Sargon II depicts a Lamassu, a mythical creature of Mesopotamian cultures. A bull with eagle wings and the head of a man, the Lamassu on the watch replicates a pair in the Louvre that originally stood at the gates of the palace of Sargon II, the king of Assyria.
In alabaster and originally painted in bright colours, the Louvre’s Lamassus are each almost 5 m high. Here they are scaled down to an appliqué that’s perhaps 25 mm at its longest.
The Lamassus on the dial is in limestone that is engraved and aged by hand. It sits on a dial base decorated with stone marquetry and flinque enamel.
Tiny strips of agate and dumortierite form the red and blue motif on the dial that’s based on a similar pattern found on an eighth century Mesopotamian scroll. The red feathers are in flinque enamel – translucent red enamel over a hand engraved base – meant to evoke the Lamassus as it was originally when fully painted.
Buste d’Akhénaton reproduces the a bust of Akhenaten, a pharaoh who reigned from 1355-1337 BC. The bust in the Louvre was originally part of a pillar in a temple complex, but is now damaged and incomplete. It depicts the ruler with curious, distorted features that are also found on other portrayals of the pharaoh; the reasons for this are still debated.
Those exaggerated features are reproduced here, with only the face of the bust found on the dial. The central portion of the dial is in sandstone from Sinai in Egypt, the same material used for the original bust several millennia ago. The pharaoh’s head is a sandstone appliqué, and next to it is a flat piece of sandstone engraved with his cartouche.
Around the sandstone is a border of stone champleve — tiny pieces of semiprecious stones fitted into a gold frame. And the outermost ring is entirely turquoise, seemingly composed of multiple pieces arranged in parallel, but in reality a single ring of turquoise stone that’s engraved.
Tiber de l’Iseum Campense, the final watch in the quartet, is modelled on Statue of the Tiber river with Romulus and Remus. This imposing statue is an allegory of the Tiber river, and originally sat at the entrance of the Temple of Isis and Serapis in Rome.
Like the other watches in the set, this reproduces the original in the same material – the appliqué is in the same white Italian marble that forms the Louvre’s statue. The hand engraved marble appliqué sits on a textured base that is first covered in gold leaf and then translucent enamel.
Facing the statue is a micro mosaic composed of hundreds of tiny pieces of jasper, chrysocolla, and opaline that form a flower. The motif is based on a mosaic dating to the second century AD that was found in modern-day Tunisia. And framing the dial is an engraved mother of pearl ring that reproduces a pattern from a terracotta relief dating from the first century BC.
Each of the watches are radically different in terms of decor, but all the fundamentally identical in terms of mechanics and case. They adhere to the standard Metiers d’Art format, with a case design and movement widely used in past models.
The case is simple in design but with details that give it a bit of refinement. It is relatively thick and wide for this type of watch at 42 mm by 12.9 mm, but the proportions are good enough. At the same time, the decoration on the dial calls for as much space as possible, which explains the case dimensions.
The movement inside is the cal. 2460 G4/2, an automatic that’s been in VC’s catalogue for some 20 years now. It’s a fine calibre with a sophisticated, high quality construction, but it is a little thick with the added display module, and also has a shortish 40-hour power reserve.
Despite its age and dated specs, the cal. 2460 G4/2 still look and feels like a high-end movement, especially when compared to newer constructions across the wider industry that are meant to be equally haute horlogerie but are sometimes not.
While the movement is mechanically unchanged, the rotor is customised for the Tribute to Great Civilisations. The 22k rotor is stamped with a relief of the Louvre’s East façade, depicting the famous Louvre Colonnade.
Key facts and price
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Tribute to Great Civilisations
Ref. 7620A/000G-H078 (Buste d’Akhénaton)
Ref. 7620A/000R-H079 (Tiber de l’Iseum Campense)
Ref. 7620A/000G-H080 (Lamassu de Sargon II)
Ref. 7620A/000R-H081 (Athena de Velletrie)
Case diameter: 42 mm
Height: 12.9 mm
Material: 18k pink gold or white gold
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 30 m
Movement: Cal. 2460 G4/2
Features: Hours, minutes, day, and date
Frequency: 28,800 beats per hour (4 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 40 hours
Strap: Alligator strap with folding clasp in gold
Limited edition: 15 pieces each
Availability: At Vacheron Constantin boutiques only
Price: Upon request
For more, visit vacheron-constantin.com.
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