拉丁风情－－Quai de l'Ile

tintin8 · 发表于 2010-6-30 14:35

tintin8 · 发表于 2010-6-30 14:35

The texts for the day, date, power reserve and brand signature are laser engraved and filled/printed with ink. The texts “Swiss Made” and “Automatic" are laser engraved and left unfilled.

Under the dial is a transparent security film which is also used for making banknotes. The movement side of the film is covered with hundreds of Maltese crosses and concentric circles (over some wheels) The dial side of the film is where the spiral that gives the sunray pattern, which doubles as a minute/seconds track, is printed in alternating colors. The sun pattern on the dial also comes with an invisible ink UV marking on this film, showing itself only under UV light.

I've been fascinated by the M.C. Escher quality to this dial as different aspects of the dial or movement come out depending on the light in the room.

Movement

The movement in the reference 86050 is VC’s caliber 2475, first seen in the 250th anniversary Jubile 1755. Built off of Vacheron Constantin’s in-house automatic caliber, this 27 jewel movement has a power reserve of 42 hours. Visible through a sapphire crystal display back, one first notices the dark rotor. For all the models outside of the Quai de l’Ile line, Vacheron Constantin uses a 22 carat gold rotor with a guilloche finish. Here the rotor is still made of gold, but given a ruthenium finish and five ribbed decorative arcs for a modernistic touch more appropriate to the styling of the Quai de l’Ile.

Where in the Jubile 1755 the gorgeous dial covers up the exquisite finishing under the dial side of the movement, with its bridge and wheels for the day, date, and power reserve, here the movement is on full display: anglage and circular stripes on the bridge; circular grain finishing on the wheels, with beveling on the spokes; beveled screw sinks and polished screw head; polished functioned edges to the corrector springs with straight grain finishing on the flats; perlage on the base plate. A lot of extra work goes into the making of this movement over the base automatic.