VACHERON CONSTANTIN’S TRIBUTE TO THE ANIMAL KINGDOM BRINGS RARE CRAFTS TO THE WATCH DIAL

Vacheron Constantin has long treated the watch dial as a place where horology and artistic expression can meet. Its latest project takes that idea into unfamiliar territory. Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom comprises six concept watches created through the Maison’s One of Not Many Crafts Programme, inviting artisans whose disciplines sit outside conventional watchmaking to translate their practices into miniature works of art.

The premise is deceptively simple. Six artists were each given the challenge of adapting a specialised craft to the dimensions of a functioning timepiece, with the animal kingdom providing the common theme. The resulting works — Feathersnake, Glassoctopus, Oraygami, Tigerbroidery, Papercroc and Woodenwings — use featherwork, glass sculpting, micro-origami, gold embroidery, paper sculpting and wood marquetry respectively. Each approaches the dial as both a technical surface and an artistic composition.

What makes the project particularly demanding is its scale. Each watch is housed in a 42-millimetre case, while the distance between the dial and the protective sapphire crystal allows no more than four millimetres of vertical space. Crafts traditionally practised across much larger surfaces therefore had to be reconsidered almost from first principles. The artists worked alongside Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers and Métiers d’Art specialists, whose expertise in miniaturisation was essential to translating these techniques without compromising the function of the watch.

At the mechanical heart of the project is the Calibre 2460 G4, an automatic movement created in 2005 specifically suited to artistic dial work. Rather than placing conventional hands at the centre, the calibre displays the hours, minutes, day and date through four peripheral apertures. This leaves the central portion of the dial open, allowing the artistic composition to occupy the space without having to accommodate conventional numerals or hands. It is an architecture that has subsequently become closely associated with Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art creations.

The first interpretation, Feathersnake, uses micro-plumasserie to create an imaginary serpent winding through a fantastical landscape. More than 200 minute feather pieces, derived from seven rare Lophophore feathers, form the serpent, while goose feathers provide the surrounding vegetation. The snake rises approximately three millimetres above the dial, supported by a specially developed metal appliqué that allows the feathers to retain volume and their naturally iridescent character. The complete development process, including research and prototyping, required approximately 250 hours.

The limitations of featherwork became part of the engineering challenge. Conventional tools were inadequate at this scale, requiring specially adapted instruments for cutting and placing the tiny feather fragments. The result retains the softness and variation of natural plumage while creating a distinctly sculptural form within the confined space of the watch.

Glassoctopus takes an entirely different approach. Here, transparent glass becomes a miniature underwater creature suspended above a dark, hand-guilloché dial. The octopus rises only 3.5 millimetres from the surface and was constructed from tiny glass rods, melted and shaped with tungsten tools developed specifically for the project. Rather than forming the sculpture in a single operation, individual sections had to be built progressively, with each tentacle and sucker carefully controlled.

The transparency of the material created another layer of complexity. Every thickness and overlap could affect the way the glass interacted optically with the dial beneath it. The sculpture also had to coexist with the four peripheral indications, requiring the tentacles to pass above the openings without interfering with their function.

Oraygami introduces an altogether lighter material. Miniature manta rays, measuring approximately five to ten millimetres, are folded from specially coloured Japanese paper and mounted on fine brass stems. Their arrangement creates the impression of movement through deep water, while a blue hand-guilloché background and moiré effect on the crystal reinforce the aquatic atmosphere.

The origami itself required an original folding sequence rather than a conventional pattern. The artist studied the proportions and movement of real manta rays before translating their forms into folds small enough to fit the dial. Paper weighing only around 20 grams was manipulated into shapes just a few millimetres across, with colour, thickness and flexibility all affecting the final result.

Gold embroidery gives Tigerbroidery its particular character. A tiger moves through an embroidered jungle rendered in honey, tangerine, green and black. The animal is constructed from 9-carat yellow and white gold embroidery wires, with specially developed black ceramic-coated wires forming the stripes. The surrounding vegetation uses silk, including specially commissioned green silk, while individual sections of gold wire measuring less than a millimetre contribute to the tiger’s coat.

The technical construction required a perforated titanium dial plate so the embroidery could be stitched directly into the watch while preserving the movement’s operation. Even the tiger’s eyes demanded exceptional control, incorporating ten shades of silk to create depth. The finished dial required approximately 210 hours of work, from preparing the silk and developing the internal structure to shaping the gold and completing the embroidery.

Papercroc reduces paper to an unexpectedly sculptural medium. A white crocodile emerges from a monochromatic landscape that resembles snow-covered vegetation, its form built from cotton paper through embossing, laser cutting and hand assembly. The composition reaches only around three millimetres in height, with layered pieces producing shadows and changes in relief across the surface.

Creating the relief required heated brass matrices engraved with the crocodile’s scales and foliage. The matrices were pressed into the paper at temperatures between 60 and 70°C, while extensive testing determined how much pressure the material could withstand without tearing or losing definition. The four apertures displaying the watch’s indications are incorporated into the composition, becoming part of the landscape rather than interruptions to it.

The final creation, Woodenwings, brings wood marquetry into the smallest environment of the six. A falcon is constructed from 12 different wood species, chosen for their individual grain, colour and structural qualities. Its body uses sculpted layered marquetry, while the wing employs a feather-by-feather technique developed specifically for the project. Circular marquetry forms the abstract background.

At this scale, conventional woodworking tools were simply too large and imprecise. Scalpels, miniature carbide bits and specially assembled sanding tools were used under binocular magnification. The falcon’s wing is sculpted to hover only a few millimetres above the dial, requiring the artist to consider not only the visual appearance of each feather but also the physical behaviour of each wood species.

The six watches are united by further details. Each features a specially designed and hand-engraved 22K gold oscillating weight inspired by artisans’ tools, while dedicated straps extend the visual language of their respective dials.

The project also sits naturally within Vacheron Constantin’s long relationship with decorative arts. Founded in Geneva in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, the Maison is the world’s oldest watch manufacturer in continuous operation. Its heritage encompasses generations of technical development alongside engraving, enamelling, guilloché, gem-setting and restoration. Its commitment to transmitting rare skills continues through apprenticeships, specialist training and partnerships with artists and cultural institutions.

Nature itself has repeatedly appeared within that history. From early animal motifs to Art Nouveau creations, Art Deco lacquer work and later Métiers d’Art pieces, fauna has provided Vacheron Constantin’s artisans with a subject through which materials and techniques can be explored. The new series continues that tradition while deliberately moving beyond the conventional vocabulary of watch decoration.

For collectors in the UAE, Vacheron Constantin’s current official boutique locator lists three Dubai locations: The Dubai Mall, Suite 1755 at Mandarin Oriental Jumeira and Mall of the Emirates. The Dubai Mall flagship offers the Maison’s collections alongside services including an in-house watchmaker, strap customisation, engraving and access to a permanent Heritage exhibition.

Tribute to the Animal Kingdom ultimately makes a compelling argument for what Métiers d’Art can become when tradition is treated as a foundation rather than a boundary. A feather, a fragment of wood, a sheet of paper or a thread of gold might appear distant from the mechanics of a Swiss watch, yet each becomes part of the same discipline once scale, precision and function enter the equation. In these six miniature worlds, the achievement lies not simply in making unfamiliar materials fit a watch, but in allowing each craft to retain its own character while becoming part of a working instrument. It is a quiet reminder that the future of craftsmanship can be shaped as much by new conversations as by inherited techniques.