Only a few days ago, Rolls-Royce revealed the one-of-a-kind La Rose Noire Droptail fitted with a unique Audemars Piguet Royal Oak dash clock at the Monterey Car Week. For the second example in the coachbuilt Droptail series, the British luxury carmaker teamed up with Vacheron Constantin to create a bespoke timepiece, which was commissioned by a client with a passion for both watchmaking and coachbuilt. Called the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail, the purple-colored roadster is said to be inspired by the birthstone of the unnamed customer’s son. The client who collects both luxury cars and fine watches requested a completely unique dash clock for the Amethyst Droptail that not only mirrors the exclusivity of the coachbuilt Rolls-Royce but also its complexity and attention to detail. That’s how the one-of-one Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon was born.
The Swiss luxury watchmaker closely worked with Rolls-Royce to tailor every single detail to absolute perfection. Matching the theme of the Rolls-Royce Amethyst Droptail, the bespoke Vacheron Constantin timepiece is dressed in an elegant amethyst color.
Designed to fit into the dashboard of the coachbuilt roadster, the Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon seamlessly integrates into the Calamander Light open-pore wood veneer dashboard and comes in a removable holder also designed by Vacheron Constantin. It is made of 18k white gold and is decorated with a hand-guilloché pattern. Unlike the LaRose Noire Droptail’s unique Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, the Vacheron Constantin timepiece cannot be worn on the wrist like a traditional wristwatch.
“Vacheron Constantin has worked closely with the British luxury house on the technical specifications and finishing details to create this unique timepiece,” said Vacheron Constantin style and heritage director Christian Selmoni. “In this context, materials, colors, and aesthetics of this single-piece edition were carefully chosen to achieve the highest result in terms of design integration.”
The watch boasts a stainless steel case measuring 43.8mm in diameter and 19.9mm in thickness. The watch gets a transparent sapphire crystal dial, while the hands are made of titanium. Housed inside the round case is the exceptional caliber 1990, a hand-wound in-house complication movement that incorporates certain technical aspects derived from Reference 57260. The movement fitted with 299 components offers a power reserve of 58 hours and can be seen from the dial side. The movement offers functions such as retrograde hours and minutes, small seconds on the tourbillon, and an armillary tourbillon. Have a look at the pictures, the one-off Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon is simply stunning.