Reference 57260


The Vacheron Constantin Reference 57260 is a single highly complicated mechanical pocket watch, featuring 57 complications. The watch was assembled by Vacheron Constantin and introduced in 2015. The company claims that it is the most complicated mechanical pocket watch ever created—followed up by Patek Philippe Calibre 89 assembled in 1989 and featuring 33 complications. The Reference 57260 took eight years to assemble. The watch has 2826 parts and 31 hands, weighs 957 grams, and spans 98mm.
The Reference 57260 is one of Vacheron Constantin's tailor-made pocket watches with grand complications. Members of the lineage include James W. Packard's minute repeating pocket watch, which was auctioned for US$1.763 million by Christie's in New York on June 15, 2011, and King Fuad I's pocket watch No. 402833, which ranks as one of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching US$2.77 million in Geneva on April 03, 2005. In addition, in 1946 Vacheron Constantin made a customized pocket watch for King Farouk of Egypt, the successor of King Fuad I, and in 1948 the company tailored another pocket watch for Count Guy de Boisrouvray of France.

Price

The price agreed between the company and the client is confidential and has not been officially disclosed; however, various sources estimate the price to be in excess of $10 million. It was built for a single client, whose personal details are kept confidential and is only described as "A major watch collector".

Technical specifications

Time measurement (6 functions)

  1. Hours, minutes, seconds, average solar time
  2. Three-shaft tourbillon
  3. Tourbillon regulator with spherical balance spring
  4. 12-hour time zone, second hours and minutes time zone
  5. 24-city display for each time zone
  6. Day/night indication for 12-hour time zone

    Perpetual calendar (7 functions)

  7. Gregorian perpetual calendar
  8. Gregorian day name
  9. Gregorian month name
  10. Gregorian retrograde date
  11. Leap year and four-year cycle display
  12. Number of the day of the week
  13. Week to view

    [Hebrew calendar] (8 functions)

  14. Hebrew perpetual calendar and 19-year cycle
  15. Hebrew day number
  16. Hebrew month name
  17. Hebrew date
  18. Hebrew secular calendar
  19. Hebrew century, decade and year
  20. Age of Hebrew year
  21. Golden number

    Astronomical calendar (9 functions)

  22. Seasons, equinoxes, solstices and signs of the Zodiac indicated by the hand on the sun
  23. Star chart
  24. Sidereal time hours
  25. Sidereal time minutes
  26. Equation of time
  27. Sunrise times
  28. Sunset times
  29. Length of day
  30. Length of night

    Lunar calendar (1 function)

  31. Moon phases and age

    Religious calendar (1 function)

  32. Date of Yom Kippur

    3-column wheel chronograph (4 functions)

  33. Retrograde seconds chronograph
  34. Retrograde split-seconds chronograph
  35. Hours counter
  36. Minutes counter

    Alarm (7 functions)

  37. Alarm with its own gong and gradual striking
  38. Alarm strike / silence indicator
  39. Choice of normal alarm or carillon striking alarm indicator
  40. Alarm mechanism coupled to the carillon striking mechanism
  41. Alarm striking with choice of Grande or Petite Sonnerie
  42. Alarm power-reserve indication
  43. System to disengage the striking mechanism when alarm barrel fully unwound

    Westminster carillon striking (8 functions)

  44. Westminster carillon chiming with 5 gongs and 5 hammers
  45. Grande Sonnerie passing strike
  46. Petite Sonnerie passing strike
  47. Minute repeating
  48. Night silence feature
  49. System to disengage the striking barrel when fully wound
  50. Indication for Grande or Petite Sonnerie modes
  51. Indication for silence / striking / night modes

    Others (6 functions)

  52. Movement power reserve indicator
  53. Power-reserve indication for the striking train
  54. Winding crown position indicator
  55. Dual barrel winding system
  56. Time setting in two positions and two directions
  57. Secret mechanism

    Other complicated pocket watches