Crafted in opaque enamel and grisaille enamel, the dial of the Traditionnel World Time highlights the horological expertise of the Manufacture, conveyed through traditional decorative crafts. The sophisticated world time display, composed of three superimposed discs, is enhanced by a miniature enamelled gold world map.
The seas, portrayed in an opaque blue shade of enamel, accentuate every detail of the continents. The realistic coastal and land reliefs take on subtle shades of blue and white, achieved using the grisaille enamel technique. This delicate paint, composed of Limoges white, an extremely rare and fine powder mixed with oils, is applied to the dark enamel in tiny touches and meticulously drawn out using needles and brushes. This material is very difficult to work with and calls for dexterity, experience and extreme precision in adjusting the firing times, to the nearest second, for each layer applied. Opaque enamel calls for equally painstaking care and can tolerate no flaws, since the light directly strikes even the slightest bump or rough patch, instead of being absorbed by the translucent nature of a traditional enamel. This technique used for the world map is picked up on the 24‐hour disc bearing gold hour‐markers and the 37 city names painted on dark blue opaque enamel. They appear in white for those representing time zones with a full‐hour time difference and in sky blue for those with half‐hour or quarter‐hour time differences, all swept over by 18‐carat gold hands and rimmed by a minute ring.
The Traditionnelle World Time model offers a platinum 42.5 mm‐diameter case, water‐resistant to 30 metres and housing caliber 2460 WT, developed and manufactured by Vacheron Constantin. In addition to central hours, minutes and seconds hands, this mechanical selfwinding movement also drives some original functions: simultaneous reading of 37 world time zones, including those offset by a half‐hour or quarter‐hour compared with Coordinated Universal Time, along with a day/night indication and simplified adjustment of all these indications via the crown. Its rating precision is further ensured by a stop‐seconds system. Set to winter time in the Northern hemisphere, the 225‐part caliber 2460 WT features a 22‐carat gold oscillating weight, a balance wheel beating at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations/hour and a 40‐hour power reserve.
This limited edition consists of ten numbered watches bearing the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva and fitted with an elegant blue Mississippiensis alligator leather strap with large square scales and a platinum triple folding clasp.
