Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Dual Moon Grand Complication

Quick specs Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Dual Moon Grand Complication
Price: upon request
Size: 46 mm
Reference: 9770C/000G-007C

Whenever you hear Les Cabinotiers and Vacheron Constantin, you know there is something special. Well, this is the special Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Dual Moon Grand Complication, a one-off by the Swiss brand. It’s not the first extremely complicated timepiece from the Les Cabinotiers series, and certainly not the last.

This piece has 11 complications, a little bit less than the 23 of the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Celestia Astronomical Grand Complication 3600 from 2017. However, it’s still impressive. So, let’s start with the dual moon, which is the main attraction of the watch. In fact, it is the initial intention of VC to bring a tribute to the moon with this watch.

Why are there two moons?

Most watches with a moon phase have this complication at the 6 o’clock position. With the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Dual Moon Grand Complication the moon phase takes a central position. It provides a vision of the earth’s satellite as it appears in the northern and the southern hemisphere, depicted by two moons. The disc with the two moons makes a complete rotation in 59 days, 12 hours and 45 minutes. The age of each moon can be read on the periphery scale graduated from 1 to 29½ as the cycle of lunar phases, or synodic month, repeats every 29.53 days. Look at the photos for an impression of the depth and details of this central part.

On top of the moon phase you will find the time slightly off-centered in hours and minutes. Around it in separated apertures there is the perpetual calendar. It starts with a retrograde date, leap-year indication, month, and ends with the day. If you keep winding it every day, it will not need any correction before the year 2100.

Controlled by a slide housed on the case band, there is a minute repeater. It plays a musical pattern at the hours, quarters and minutes by hammers striking two circular gongs. Then there is a skeletonized tourbillon – this saves weight – for which was no place on the face of the watch. But you can admire it at the back.

The back of the Vacheron Constantin Les Cabinotiers Dual Moon Grand Complication is complicated to understand

Apart from the one-minute-rotating tourbillon in its carriage shaped like VC’s emblem, there is more going on at the back. We have to quote, as this is getting even more complicated: “A fixed dial, bearing a blue dot representing the celestial horizon, is positioned below a movable sapphire crystal engraved with the constellations, while the rim features month markings as well as five-day graduations.”

“By performing a complete rotation according to sidereal time, this mobile disc gives the exact position of the constellations – delimited by the celestial horizon – at the time when the watch is consulted by pointing it Northwards. Sideral time is read off counterclockwise, facing the current date on the fixed PVD-treated blue outer ring bearing a 24-hour scale along with the cardinal points.” We’ve read that twice and got it. Sort of.

All the complications are driven by the new manual-winding in-house caliber 2755 TMRCC QP with a power reserve of 58 hours. As it is a one-off the price is on request.