Thirty Years of the Overseas, Marked in Azure

Vacheron Constantin has marked thirty years of the Overseas with a Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin in 18K white gold and a new azure dial, limited to 200 pieces. It is the first time the collection has paired white gold with this shade, and the maison has kept the whole watch to 8.1mm.

From the 222 to the Overseas

The Overseas arrived in 1996 as the successor to the 222 of 1977, which together with the 1975 Chronomètre Royal set out the maison’s sport-chic style. Its notched bezel, screwed to a flat case, and an integrated bracelet shaped after the Maltese cross have defined it ever since.

A second generation followed in 2004 with a bolder, sportier case and the collection’s first complications and jewellery versions. The third, launched in 2016, brought movements built specifically for the Overseas, including chronograph, dual time and world time calibres, along with the quick-change system that moves the watch between bracelet, leather and rubber without tools. Titanium and platinum have since joined steel and 18K gold as case materials.

A New Shade of Azure

The azure dial Vacheron Constantin introduced in 2016 built its depth from metallic shades beneath several layers of varnish, and quickly became a signature of the collection. The anniversary piece wears a new, lighter take on it, less intense and less saturated, that shifts in tone as the light moves across the lacquer.

The moonphase disc is finished in the same blue, while the moon, the applied hour markers and the calendar indications are left in white gold for contrast. Set against the understated lustre of the white gold case, the result reads as much casual as it does formal.

The Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar

Calibre 1120 QP/1 is 4.05mm thick and carries a full perpetual calendar with moonphase, which is how the case stays at 8.1mm. It accounts for months of 28, 30 and 31 days and for leap years on its own, and needs no correction until 2100, when the Gregorian calendar skips a leap year.

Through the sapphire caseback, the finishing follows the conventions of Haute Horlogerie, with Côtes de Genève and bevelling on the bridges, perlage on the mainplate and satin finishes on the calendar components. The 22k gold oscillating weight is engraved with a compass rose, the collection’s nod to exploration. All 276 components are finished to the same standard, including those hidden once the movement is assembled.

Three Ways to Wear It

The watch comes on an integrated white gold bracelet with a micro-adjustment clasp, alongside two textured rubber straps in white and denim blue, each with its own white gold pin buckle. All three swap without tools, which is the point of an Overseas.

The Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin Azure Dial is limited to 200 pieces. Contact the SW team for more information.