Vacheron Constantin Celebrates 20 Years of Patrimony With “One of Not Many” Talent Ora ïto

Vacheron Constantin released the modern Patrimony collection 20 years ago in 2004, based on the brand's 1950s concept of concealing "genuine complexity beneath minimal aesthetics." For the collection's 20th anniversary, Vacheron has released a new watch meant to celebrate this grand watchmaking tradition, and it does so in rather stunning fashion. The vintage stylings come courtesy of the brand's collaborative relationship with French designer Ora ïto, who was inspired by graphic motifs one might find in the 1970s. The result is this limited-edition, self-winding Patrimony Reference 85180/000J-H069. 

This new Patrimony is a beautiful encapsulation of the principles that have guided the formation of the modern collection. The watch is at once classic in appearance, while also being slightly retro in vibe; achieving this balance is something of a signature skill for Ora ïto, and is also exhibited in works like the MAMO “Marseille Modulor” art center in Marseille, and the Renault 17 restomod sculpture project. There’s a fine line being walked here, and Ora ïto brings a welcome amount of personality without disrupting the concept put forth by Vacheron. 

The watch features a 40mm yellow-gold case that measures just 8.55mm thick, making it standard fare within the standard production, self-winding Patrimony collection models with date displays. The real spectacle here is the dial, whose gold tone matches the case perfectly. The dial utilizes a curricular pattern through its entirety, with a single ring differentiating a space for the indexes marking the minutes and hours. The hour markers at the cardinal positions cut deeply into the dial while smaller bars mark each five minute segment. More magic happens at the minute markers, which are 18K 3N yellow-gold pearls, bringing a decidedly throwback vibe to the scene. While these markers are present on regular-production Patrimony references, they hit a bit differently within this tone-on-tone theme.

With a close look, there’s actually quite a lot going on with this dial, but held at arm's length, everything blends into a rather simple vision, which is a tone-on-tone, retro-classical experience. One final detail that might feel small actually has a big impact on the overall aesthetic, and that is the deep red, almost purple printing of the date atop a gold-colored disk. The color echoes the tone of the calfskin leather strap, keeping a cohesive theme throughout. 

Inside, as you might expect, Vacheron is using its extra-thin Caliber 2450 Q6/3, which is visible through an exhibition caseback. Contrary to the concept of the Patrimony described above, the movement isn’t terribly complex, with just a date joining the time display, but it does bear the Hallmark of Geneva (or Poinçon de Genève), meaning it meets a very high quality standard as set and judged by Timelab.

Just 100 examples of this anniversary Patrimony are planned for production, each priced at $33,500.