You want Kardashian level luxury and have about 65K burning a hole in your tax haven bank account right now? Yeah me too, Hellish isn’t it? OK then Vacheron Constantin have your prestige wristwatch needs covered. Here’s the news on the Patrimony Moon Phase, limited edition model, just launched;

The Patrimony moon phase retrograde date model is joining the Collection Excellence Platine concept. Launched in 2006, it offers collectors exceptional watches in 950 platinum limited editions. Case, crown, dial, buckle are crafted from this metal, plus the alligator leather strap is hand-stitched with platinum and silk threads.

Entirely faithful to the spirit of the Patrimony collection, drawing inspiration from the watches created by the Maison in the 1950s, this timepiece bears has a minimalist aesthetic, with a 42.5 mm round case housing the self-winding Manufacture 2460 R31L calibre.

Limited edition

The moon-phase disc, which can be admired through an aperture at 6 o’clock, is also in platinum with a polished surface on the stars and a grained texture for the moon circles imitating the visible irregularities of the lunar surface. The dial is slightly convex around its circumference and punctuated by applied 18-carat white gold hour-markers, appearing at intervals around a likewise white gold “pearl” minute-track. The baton-type hands are made of the same metal, blued for the date pointer for enhanced readability.

Precision moon phase and retrograde date

The self-winding 2460 R31L calibre movement features a 40-hour power reserve. The transparent sapphire caseback provides a chance to admire this 275-part intricate movement, including the circular-grained surface of its mainplate and its openworks 22-carat gold oscillating weight, inspired by Vacheron Constantin’s Maltese cross emblem.

The moon phases are displayed through an aperture at 6 o’clock, graduated from 0 to 29½, serving to count off the number of days elapsed since the last new moon. This horological complication, known as the age of the moon, corresponds to the actual cycle of this heavenly body, which rotates around the Earth in exactly 29 days, 12 hours and 45 minutes. The precision moon phases mechanism requires a one-day correction only once every 122 years.

The second complication – a retrograde date indication by means of the central hand – occupies the upper part of the dial. To ensure user friendliness, all operations are performed via the crown: winding, date correction, moon-phase adjustment and time-setting.

It is an unusual dial design, with the calendar dates stacked in an arc at the top of the dial. The platinum case and light grey dial colour isn’t everyone’s cup of tea either. For something so fabulously expensive, (about US$67,000) and produced as a limited edition of just 50 pieces, it is perhaps a tad too laid back to make a bold statement. But then your humble scribe isn’t in the Premiership watch buyer class and many wealthy people now avoid flashy Rolex, Patek, Mille, Audemars, Hublot, Cartier and other brands as they attract professional and amateur thieves and vagabonds alike.

Good point.