Here’s the watch that I found most impressive during my preview in Geneva. The Cosmica Duo is a double-sided watch featuring 24 complications, powered by the new, astronomically focused manufacture calibre 2756-B1. The watch, cased in 18k white gold, measures 47mm in diameter and 20.2mm in thickness. If that size fits you well, it can also be easily worn on either side thanks to its hinged lugs and quick-change strap, which can be flipped to accommodate either side. While Vacheron Constantin would never say it, this immediately struck me as their competitor to the Patek Philippe Grandmaster Chime. The comparison is obvious, but the execution is much different.
Compared to a more artistically styled watch, such as the Armillary Tourbillon ‘Myth of the Pleiades’ or the brand’s ‘Tribute to Bacchus,’ which are far less reserved, the focus here is on the technical aspects. The watch is manually wound, with a 60-hour power reserve, yet still powers the 1,003 components (featuring 112 jewels) that operate the 24 complications. According to the brand, those complications include the following:
“Off-centred hours and minutes, day/night indicator, second time zone, 24-city indicator, day/night indicator for
the second time zone, perpetual calendar, sky chart of the Northern Hemisphere with local horizon zone indication,
sidereal hours and minutes, minute repeater, running equation of time (hours and minutes), sunrise and sunset times,
day and night duration, retrograde precision moon phase and age, tourbillon, power reserve indicator.”