Vacheron vs. Audemars: Who Is The King of Skeletons

At the end of 2019 when Audemars Piguet revealed the Royal Oak Perpetual Calendar Openworked in all black ceramic, there was no doubt that Audemars Piguet was the market leader of haute horology skeleton watches. But that was until last week when Vacheron Constantin (VC) introduced its show-stopping Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton.

Our first reaction at The Collectors Circle, especially mine, was a mix of surprise and excitement. I’ve always loved Vacheron Constantin’s Overseas collection as it represents the highest form of fine watch making in a sports watch, as well as it bears the imprint of VC’s genius and DNA. We took a week to cool off from the excitement and post this article but, to be honest, our enthusiasm didn’t slow down one bit.

The watch comes with the characteristic Maltese Cross-style bracelet in solid 5N pink gold and two additional straps in dark blue (one in rubber for more sporty days and one in alligator leather for classier days or events) that can be easily changed. The case is made from solid pink gold as well and measures 41.5mm while being only 8.1mm thick.

The highlight of the timepiece is the transparent sapphire dial. The Perpetual Calendar runs until the year 2100 without needing to be adjusted. On the position of the 6 o’clock index, you can spot the beautiful moon phase, and the date is found on the outer right sub-dial. The day of the week is displayed on the left sub-dial and the fourth sub-dial at 12 o’clock displays the month of the year. As you can see, it indicates 48 months, while the last 12 months (1 quarter of the sub-dial) are featured in blue, representing the leap year. All this on a transparent dial which allows us to see the 1120 QPSQ caliber. The power reserve of the self-winding caliber is good for 40 hours.

It’s the first timepiece of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas collection with an open dial and we from The Collectors Circle freaking love it! It perfectly reflects VC’s iconic style and provides everything you need in a collectible sports watch, yet it is so different to those of the Big Three (Patek Philippe, Rolex and Audemars Piguet).

Well done Vacheron Constantin - you did everything right with the Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton. I am happy to try it on soon to see how the 41.5mm fits my wrist and take some wrist shots for the IG #watchfam.

Photography:
Vacheron Constantin: @vacheronconstantin

Summary

Brand:

Vacheron Constantin

Model:

Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Skeleton

Price:

retail price CHF 115,000

Limitation:

No limitation

Measurements:

case diameter 41.5mm, case thickness 8.1mm

When to wear:

The watch is an eye catcher even for non-watch enthusiasts. Wear it while visiting a watch event or having a dinner with your watch loving friends and I promise you, you will be a superstar among the watch collectors.

What we love about the watch:

Classy, sporty and eye catching and still very characteristic VC manner.

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