Back in 2015, Vacheron Constantin unveiled the Reference 57260, a made-to-order pocket watch that was touted as the most complicated horological creation with a grand total of 57 complications. Almost a decade later, the luxury watch and clock manufacturer has smashed its own record by introducing a new pocket watch that boasts 63 separate complications. Called the Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication, the one-of-a-kind pocket watch crafted in 18k white gold now holds the title of the most complicated timepiece ever created. Interestingly, the name of the bespoke pocket watch reveals the person who commissioned the unique creation.
The timepiece was created for W. R. Berkley, the billionaire owner of the W. R. Berkley Corporation insurance holding company and Chairman of the Board of Trustees for New York University. As of April 2024, the Florida businessman’s net worth was estimated at $4.6 billion according to Forbes. It turns out that Mr. Berkley is a collector of the most complicated watches made by Vacheron Constantin. In addition to the new Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication, his collection also includes the Reference 57260, which now is the second most complicated watch in the world. Furthermore, he also owns the famous “King Farouk” pocket watch – a masterpiece created for King Farouk, son of King Fuad I of Egypt, which took five years to complete and included 14 complications.
According to Vacheron Constantin, the Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication required three master watchmakers in the house’s Atelier Les Cabinotiers 11 years to develop. What that means is the Swiss watch manufacturer started work on the piece even before the Reference 57260 was completed. “The making of this watch is really all about the human adventure, and about the connection we have with our clients,” Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s style and heritage director, said. “Even if most watchmaking complications were invented centuries ago, our master watchmakers demonstrate that it is still possible to push the boundaries of their art, to question their knowledge and to challenge certainties.”
Crafted in 18-karat white gold, the watch measures 90.8mm in diameter by 50.55mm thick and weighs a whopping 960 grams (over two pounds). In fact, it can be considered as an evolution of the 57260. Both watches pretty much share the same look and dimensions. Obviously, the one-off pocket watch is a museum piece that is not meant to be used every day.
The utterly astonishing watch has dials on both sides of the case and is powered by the one-of-a-kind movement, Caliber 3752. The movement has set a new world record for the largest number of hand-finished and hand-assembled parts. It has a total of 2,877 components, which includes 31 hands, nine disks, and 245 jewels, which took one year for a watchmaker to hand-assemble. However, there’s something even more incredible than the sheer number of complications the pocket watch features. Vacheron Constantin invented a Chinese perpetual calendar for this watch, making it the first ever horological creation to feature the complication. This was one of the main technical challenges of this new timepiece.
“Because the Chinese calendar is so complex, based on lunisolar calendars, it was supposed to be mechanically impossible to build a perpetual Chinese calendar,” Mr. Selmoni said. “And in developing a perpetual calendar we need to avoid irregularities. This was a real challenge.” The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar that’s based on the moon’s phases and the sun’s longitude.
In the Chinese calendar, both the length of a month and the length of a year varies, making it very complex. According to the Vacheron, one of the Les Cabinotiers watchmakers took a full year to figure out an algorithm for the Chinese perpetual calendar. “It is really about mixing mathematics and mechanics at a truly advanced level,” Selmoni said.
The Chinese perpetual calendar in the pocket watch boasts 11 functions and displays the date of the Lunar New Year for the next 20 years on a disk located at 6 o’clock on the front dial. After every 20 years, a house watchmaker will have to change the disk.
In addition to the Chinese calendar, the movement also features a Gregorian perpetual calendar, which is said to be accurate to 2100. Furthermore, it also includes a Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar, which is based on a solar calendar that divides the year into 24 solar periods. The three perpetual calendars alone comprise 20 of the 63 complications.
Other than the perpetual calendars, the pocket watch features a split-seconds column-wheel chronograph; six alarm functions; eight chiming functions, which includes the Westminster carillon played by five hammers and five gongs; nine astronomical complications; and a world time function. Interestingly, Vacheron hasn’t filed any patents for this watch yet despite featuring so many innovations.
In comparison, the brand had applied for 10 patents for the 57260. “When applying for patents, it is essential to give a very precise description of the innovation, including technical drawings, as well as to put the invention into perspective in relation to existing solutions,” Mr. Selmoni said. Since it’s a bespoke piece, there’s no word on the price of the Les Cabinotier Berkley Grand Complication. The ref. 57260 was priced at $8 million when it was introduced 9 years ago.
Although Mr. Berkley acquired the watch for his personal collection and is unlikely to sell it, it could be priced well over $20 million if it were to hit the auction block. We won’t be surprised if the watch collection spent more than $25 million on his latest addition.
Listed below are all the complications –
Time measurement (9)
1. Regulator-type hours, minutes and seconds for mean solar time
2. Retrograde second for mean solar time
3. Day and night indication for reference city
4. Visible spherical armillary tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring
5. Armillary sphere tourbillon
6. World time indication for 24 cities
7. Second time zone hours and minutes (on 12 hours display)
8. Second time zone day and night indication
9. System to display the second time zone for the Northern or Southern hemispheres
Gregorian Perpetual Calendar (7)
10. Gregorian perpetual calendar
11. Gregorian days of the week
12. Gregorian months
13. Gregorian retrograde date
14. Leap-year indication and four-year cycle
15. Number of the day of the week (ISO 8601 calendar)
16. Indication for the number of the week within the year (ISO 8601 calendar)
Chinese Perpetual Calendar (11)
17. Chinese perpetual calendar
18. Chinese number of the day
19. Chinese name of the month
20. Chinese date indication
21. Chinese zodiac signs
22. 5 elements and 10 celestial stems
23. 6 energies and 12 earthly branches
24. Chinese year state (common or embolismic)
25. Month state (small or large)
26. Indication for the Golden number within the 19-year Metonic cycle
27. Indication for the date of the Chinese New Year in the Gregorian calendar
Chinese Agricultural Perpetual Calendar (2)
28. Chinese agricultural perpetual calendar
29. Indications of seasons, equinoxes and solstices with solar hand
Astronomical Indications (9)
30. Sky chart (calibrated for Shanghai)
31. Sidereal hours
32. Sidereal minutes
33. Sunrise time (calibrated for Shanghai)
34. Sunset time (calibrated for Shanghai)
35. Equation of time
36. Length of the day (calibrated for Shanghai)
37. Length of the night (calibrated for Shanghai)
38. Phases and age of the moon, one correction every 1027 years
Split-seconds Chronograph (4)
39. Fifths of a second chronograph (1 column wheel)
40. Fifths of a second split-second chronograph (1 column wheel)
41. 12-hour counter (1 column wheel)
42. 60-minute counter
Alarm (7)
43. Progressive alarm with single gong and hammer striking
44. Alarm strike / silence indicator
45. Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator
46. Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism
47. Alarm striking with choice of grande or petite sonnerie
48. Alarm power-reserve indication
49. System to disengage the alarm barrel when fully wound
Westminster Carillon (8)
50. Carillon Westminster chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers
51. Grande sonnerie passing strike
52. Petite sonnerie passing strike
53. Minute repeating
54. Night silence feature (between 22.00 and 08.00 hours – hours chosen by the owner)
55. System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound
56. Indication for grande or petite sonnerie modes
57. Indication for silence / striking / night modes
Additional features (6)
58. Power-reserve indication for the going train
59. Power-reserve indication for the striking train
60. Winding crown position indicator
61. Winding system for the double barrels
62. Hand-setting system with two positions and two directions
63. Concealed flush-fit winding crown for the alarm mechanism
