La Quête du Temps
A Masterpiece beyond watchmaking
To mark its 270th Anniversary, Vacheron Constantin presents La Quête du Temps, a mechanical marvel and a tribute to the Maison’s legacy seven years in the making. Monumental in scope, this clock explores the intimate connections between time, the cosmos and human ingenuity, building on a tradition that goes back to Antiquity. This endeavour also inspired the new Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Quest of Time, a double-sided wristwatch that translates the ambitions of La Quête du Temps into a wearable format.
Origin
A tribute to the Age of Enlightenment and the eternal human fascination with Time
Merging horological mastery, decorative arts, precision engineering and the poetry of movement, La Quête du Temps is the first-ever timepiece to feature an automaton as a functional time-telling complication. This celestial figure, a mechanical Astronomer, indicates the time through choreographed gestures in a mesmerising display of sound and motion.
ARCHITECTURE OF TIME
Three dimensions, one masterpiece
The glass dome is over 40 cm in diameter. A star chart of the skies above Geneva at Vacheron Constantin’s founding is painted within, its accuracy ensured by the Geneva Observatory. A retrograde 3D moon circles on its dedicated track, while a symbolic Sun hangs aloft, and night follows day at the automaton’s feet. A curved grid of titanium holds scales for hours (Roman numerals) and minutes (Arabic numerals).
The astronomical clock is the technical heart of La Quête du Temps, housing 23 complications in multiple layers. The upper half dominated by an oversize tourbillon surrounded by baguette-cut diamonds, is magnified for better viewing and flanked by the 15-day power-reserve indicators above the perpetual calendar functions and 24-hour time display. On the rear, rotating circles depict the celestial vault in real time, a cosmic map in motion.
The two-level base combines visual elegance and mechanical power. A stylised rendering of the solar system occupies the upper platform, inlaid with lapis lazuli, mother-of-pearl and cabochon stones representing the planets. Beneath, an octagonal base clad in a geometric pattern of rock crystal and semiprecious stones houses the mechanisms that drive both the automaton’s movements and their musical accompaniment.
7
Years of development, involving watchmakers, engineers, automatists, artists, astronomers, and musicians
6,293
Mechanical components
107 cm
Tall: a monumental creation
15+
Métiers d’art and expert disciplines involved
ARCHITECTURE OF TIME
Created in Harmony
Over seven years of development, La Quête du Temps brought together more than 15 expert disciplines, each pushing the boundaries of their craft. From fine watchmaking to sculpture, from celestial mapping to musical composition, this masterpiece was born from collaboration, curiosity, and shared imagination.
Achitecture of Time
A constellation of talents
At the heart of this collective quest is a mission to celebrate horology: expressing humanity’s fascination with Time. Master watchmakers conceived the calibre and designed the dome, consulting with astronomers from the Geneva Observatory. François Junod, recognised as the world's greatest automatier, built the Astronomer and orchestrated the figure’s 144 fluid gestures, setting them to the music of an instrument created with composer Woodkid, who provided bespoke melodies for the three sequences. Extraordinary masters of every decorative art contributed to the miniature painting, engraving, gemsetting, marquetry, enamelling and more that adorn this masterpiece.
Achitecture of Time
Where time begins with a gesture
Each element, from the engraved constellations to the hand-painted celestial dome, was crafted with precision, passion, and purpose. It took six months of testing before a single stroke of the dome’s star map could be painted. Even the raw materials such
as the rock crystal for the base required two years to source in the desired size and clarity.
This is more than an object. It’s a tribute to the power of human hands, minds,
and dreams, united in a singular pursuit of beauty and excellence.
The astronomer
A living sculpture of Time
More than a complication, the automaton of La Quête du Temps is a philosophical and emotional centrepiece. Designed as a celestial Astronomer, this figure performs 144 distinct gestures, indicating time with elegance and precision – a world first in horology. Its movements are fluid, silent, and natural, orchestrated through 158 cams and a mechanical memory system linked to the clock.
La Quête du Temps x Le Louvre
La Quête du Temps:
The Exhibition at the Louvre Museum
From 17 September to 12 November, 2025, La Quête du temps is on view at the Louvre Museum in Paris, as part of an exhibition featuring 11 horological masterpieces from Antiquity, the Renaissance and the Enlightenment.
