Artist editions
Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art "Les Masques"
Les Masques is a Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art series from 2007 to 2009. Each dial carries a miniature gold copy of a mask from the Barbier-Mueller collection in Geneva.
- Year
- 2007–2009
- Artist
- Barbier-Mueller Museum (masks), Michel Butor (poems)
- Brand
- Vacheron Constantin
- Edition size
- 25 sets of four per year, 300 watches in total
Vacheron Constantin Les Masques at a glance
"Les Masques" was presented by Vacheron Constantin at the SIHH in Geneva in 2007. It ran for three years. Each year brought a set of four watches, each showing a different mask from a different continent. The first set, from 2007, shows masks from China, Alaska, the Congo and Indonesia.
The collaboration
The masks come from the collection of Jean Paul Barbier-Mueller, whose Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva is devoted to traditional art from Africa, Asia, Oceania and the Americas. The museum celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2007 and insisted on faithful copies. One example is a Chinese funeral mask from the Liao dynasty, about 1,000 years old. Around each mask runs a short prose poem by the French writer Michel Butor.
Design and details
- Masks: each original was scanned and measured, cast in gold and then finished by hand by engravers. Colors and patina come from gold alloys and chemical treatments, with paint where needed.
- Dial: the mask seems to float in the center. A tinted sapphire hides the movement, and the Butor poem only shows when light hits it at an angle.
- Display: no hands. Hours, minutes, day and date appear in four small windows around the mask.
- Case: 40 mm, a different metal for each mask in the 2007 set: yellow gold (China), white gold (Alaska), pink gold (Congo) and platinum (Indonesia).
- Movement: self-winding calibre 2460 G4 with the Geneva Seal, based on the calibre 2460.
Edition size and release
Vacheron Constantin made 25 boxed sets of four watches per year for three years, 300 watches in total with twelve different masks. Each year's set showed four new masks, one from each of four continents.
Vacheron Constantin Les Masques on the secondary market
Les Masques watches may turn up as full sets or as single watches. A complete four-watch set in its original presentation box is the most desirable form. Collectors check the condition of the gold mask and its patina, the dial glass, the original Vacheron Constantin strap and gold folding clasp, and the papers. Since the mask, metal and year all differ, each watch has to be judged on its own.
How to check a Les Masques watch
- The mask should match the case metal and series year. In the 2007 set, for example, the Congo mask comes in pink gold.
- The calibre 2460 G4 should show the Geneva Seal and match the serial numbers on the papers.
- Look at the mask under magnification: hand engraving and natural-looking patina, not a flat casting.
- Vacheron Constantin can confirm a watch's origin through its heritage department.
Read more on how to spot a fake watch.
What is your Les Masques watch worth?
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Frequently asked questions
How many Vacheron Constantin Les Masques watches were made?
25 sets of four watches per year for three years (2007 to 2009), 300 watches in total, showing twelve different masks.
Where do the Les Masques designs come from?
The masks are miniature copies of works in the Barbier-Mueller collection in Geneva, reproduced in gold by hand.
How do you read the time on Les Masques?
There are no hands. Hours, minutes, day and date appear in four windows around the mask, driven by the self-winding calibre 2460 G4.
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