THE PROVENANCE COLLECTION
For over 260 years Vacheron Constantin has held itself to a singular standard in the already exclusive world of fine watchmaking. A unique and sophisticated character, guided by the values of innovation, artistry, and unrivalled quality; shaped by the expert hands of artisans applying knowledge passed down through the generations. This spirit is crystalised in the simple phrase: One of Not Many.
Discover The Provenance Collection
Inspired by this idea, and to celebrate the opening the first Scottish boutique – a beautiful historic building just a stone’s throw from Edinburgh Castle – the Maison has gathered together some of the city’s most talented artisans, inviting them to create new works for the space. Responding to the themes of place, time, heritage, and Vacheron Constantin’s spirit of exploration, each piece of original bespoke artwork displays the imagination, care and craftsmanship that Vacheron Constantin has always championed.
Discover the artisans
ARAMINTA CAMPBELL
The structure and texture of Araminta Campbell’s work explores her connection with the wilds of Scotland, often softly, through the fingertips.
Inspired by the remarkable guilloché finishing on Vacheron Constantin’s timepieces, Araminta developed a complex design, incorporating twenty shafts of yarn delineated by curves that arc softly through the fabric’s structure. Using traditional looms and the finest sustainably sourced British alpaca, her artisans have woven this design into a stunning textile, creating a unique series of soft furnishings for the boutique.
CHALK PLASTER
Chalk Plaster consists of husband-and-wife team, Steven & Ffion Blench, highly skilled artisans dedicated to restoration and exploration. From their studio on Burntisland’s rugged coast, they take the best of the past and the most intriguing of the future, sculpting, preserving, and polishing it for generations to come.
Their first object is a beautiful scagliola pedestal table, a roiling stracciatella of dark and light tones. These unique pigments are comprised of two hundred years of Edinburgh soot, gathered from the great dome of General Register House, while the lighter tone is derived from lime plasterwork applied to the dome in 1785.
Their second design is a series of bespoke coasters, inspired by the singular form of the master watchmaker’s rose engine lathe. Also skilfully cast from scagliola – pigmented with soot from the General Register House.
HAZEL FROST
Hazel graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2013, before establishing her eponymous studio in Edinburgh. Working in a variety of ceramics – from locally foraged clays to fine porcelain – and inspired by the wild landscape of Scotland.
Using foraged clays from six regions of Scotland, Hazel has thrown and glazed a series of fine traditional tea bowls and a carafe. Each clay, dug from sites including Leith Walk and Blair Adam, brings with it a different makeup of ingredients, tones and textures.
A pair of dramatic coil-built vessels, requiring many weeks to meticulously layer and handshape. One is smooth and burnished, almost lustrous; the other, painstakingly chiselled prior to firing. The surfaces of both pieces have been smoke glazed with burnt leaves gathered from around her home in Edinburgh.
JULI BOLAÑOS-DURMAN
After studying in San José, New York and Venice, Costa Rican born artist and designer Juli Bolaños-Durman chose Edinburgh to locate her studio, with its welcoming culture and heritage of fine craftsmanship. By collecting, modifying and repurposing abandoned glass artefacts, Juli has found a means to give them new lives, creating precious, sustainable, charismatic objects.
Juli’s unique sculptural piece displays her characteristic Costa Rican love of vibrant colour, but is restrained too, composed of just three tones and three fragments of abandoned Edinburgh glass. The work draws inspiration from the original stained-glass windows in the Edinburgh boutique.
METHOD STUDIO
Established in 2009 by architect Marisa Giannasi and second-generation woodworker Callum Robinson, Method now comprises a small team of multidisciplinary creatives and craftsmen.
Method’s Codex Mirrors (one large, and one small) have brass threads that weave their way around these forms and give the pieces their name. They find their roots in the secret codes that have for centuries passed between Scottish Royalty – for good and ill – their careful placement evoking the letters ‘V’ and ‘C’ in binary.
Method’s team have created a second piece; a unique umbrella stand for the boutique, crafted from local Scottish oak. Its tapering 12-sided form drawing from the opening of an umbrella and, from deep within, its elegantly interlaced spokes
Discover The Provenance Collection
Visit our recently opened boutique in Edinburgh and experience the craftsmanship in person.