"Looking back on the Maison’s history, it’s fair to say that from the outset, alongside the traditional crafts of Fine Watchmaking, Vacheron Constantin has also been a specialist in artistic crafts, namely the ornamental craftsmanship adorning our watchmaking creations. Since the end of the 18th and the start of the 19th century, 4 artistic crafts were developed within the Maison: enameling, engraving, guillochage and gemsetting.
These decorative crafts were very present in our creations until the middle of the 20th century, but then experienced a period of decline after going out of fashion. It is only thanks to the support of a few Maisons—including Vacheron Constantin—that some of these crafts, as well as their associated savoir-faire, have been maintained. Vacheron Constantin was a pioneer in the rediscovery of the artistic crafts in the 1990s, and their revival gave birth to the Métiers d'Art collection.
Produced in very limited quantities, or even as unique pieces, the Métiers d'Art watches pay tribute to Vacheron Constantin's four historical artistic crafts, but also incorporate other decorative crafts such as wood micro-marquetry for example.
Finally, the Métiers d'Art watches often stand out for their remarkable combination of watchmaking complexity and artistic crafts, a particularly spectacular union that is evident in the Métiers d'Art Les Aérostiers series, which pays tribute to the first hot air balloon flights at the end of the 18th century. "
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Our brand's philosophy is to meet expectations by designing timepieces as technically impressive as they are aesthetically stunning.
