Vacheron Constantin Tour d'Ile Wins Major Swiss Prize

In the watch world, unlike in our personal lives, it's good to be complicated. A few weeks ago I showed you the Zenith Grande Classe Traveler Repetition Minutes Watch which claims that it is most complicated. Another aspirant to the throne is Vacheron Constantin's dual-faced Tour de l'Île. Also known as the most complicated watch, the Tour d'Ille  has just won the L'Aiguille d'Or, the top prize in the 2005 Grand Prix d'Horlogerie de Geneve, a prestigious event that honors the accomplishments of Swiss watchmakers. JCK reports that the  timepiece sold for record-setting $1.5 million in auction in April, the most ever for a wristwatch. The prize is decided byvotes cast online by the public and by a jury of industry officials.

What makes the watch so significant is that it is the world's most complicated double-face watch,  It has sixteen different horological complications and astronomical indications including a minute repeater, sunset time, perpetual calendar, second time zone, a tourbillon, the equation of time and the representation of the night sky. The watch is composed of 834 tiny parts and took over 10,000 of research and development to create According to the Vacheron Constantin website, it is being produced in a limited edition of seven.

If I were ever given the exquisite luxury of choosing between the Zenith and the Vacheron, I think I would choose this one based on looks alone. Both faces are super busy due to the many features of the watches but no matter how many whirring dials and disks you put on a Vacheron, it still maintains a basic simplicity and grace.