Vacheron Constantin Malte Chronometer ‘Vampire’

The Eclectic, The Vampire and The Tale.

Recognized as arguably the most historical horological house, Vacheron Constantin carries an exclusivity between heritage aesthetics, design and execution of mechanical movements. I believe the Maison has widely influenced how wristwatches are perceived over the past few generations even before the modern timepieces of the day - certainly, the Malte series belong to one of those echelons. The Maison has kept most of its dated watchmaking equipment and formulas to date in order to restore and manufacture the exact parts of the old when necessary, reflecting a much lesser known fact that the most exclusive branch of watchmaking is in fact restoration of past grand complications.

While we recognize the well-known models ie. 222, Overseas, Patrimony and American, following the past offering of our ‘Jalousie’ which hopefully brings attention to the forgotten pieces, the Malte Chronometer came across as an unusual execution of Maison’s dress pieces. Double-edged sword lugs, enlarged numerals, red 30 and 60-minute track with out-size dates all generate a rather strong wrist presence despite its 38 mm case size. Beveled sword hands reflect and retract light in two directions depending on light angles and contribute to the sharpness of the central dial.

Personally, I think this is an immensely understated dress-watch with a unique detail mechanism and color contrast. If you are after a modern twist with vintage proportion on the past series of Vacheron Constantin, I believe this piece has lots of enjoyment to offer despite casual or formal occasions.