Vacheron Constantin 31-Day Retrograde 47245 Luxury Watch Review

http://www.thewatchbox.com The Vacheron Constantin 31-Day Retrograde 47245 was a watch ahead of its time. Debuting at the turn of the 21st century, the 31-Day Retrograde anticipated the sweeping changes that have overtaken the luxury watch industry in the year 2015: sensible size, taste for complications, and nostalgia for mid-century elegance. The 37mm rose gold Vacheron Constantin 31-Day Retrograde introduced a complication that has become a modern Vacheron engineering tradition. Retrogrades (and bi-retrogrades) remain in the Geneva watchmaker's catalog to this day, but the 47245 is the model that started the love affair. A single glance at the cross-hatched guilloche dial and sweeping retrograde date scale declare that this is no staid slave to hidebound tradition. The combination of bold applied rose gold Roman numerals and dot indexes jumps from the finely cut silver diamond-cut dial base. A gloriously long minute hand traces the arc of a "railroad" minute track outboard of the hours. Vacheron Constantin's designers left just enough of the complex dial's silver base visible to encourage appreciation of its complex "clous de Paris" motif. While classical proportions are present in force, the details of the 31-Day Retrograde are adventurous; this is a Vacheron designed with the new millennium - not the old - in mind. At the end of each month, the retrograde hand resets itself with alacrity; a radial day indication at six o'clock adds an additional measure of practicality. Vacheron Constantin engaged all of its aesthetic arts in crafting the 47245, and each aspect of the 31-Day Retrograde is endowed with the same level of imaginative detail as the marquee complication. Graceful fluted lugs add visual strength to the composition, and a sheer stepped bezel adds a dynamic contrast with the soft convex swell of the case flanks. Within the graceful 37mm rose gold vessel, the Vacheron Constantin 31-Day Retrograde avails of Jaeger-LeCoultre's renowned caliber 889 doing business as the VC 1126 with an R31 retrograde day-date module. The automatic winding caliber is finished to Vacheron's exacting standard, and a sapphire display case places the movement's plentiful pulchritude in full view of the fortunate owner. See this Vacheron Constantin 31-Day Retrograde in high-resolution images on www.thewatchbox.com Video and content by Tim Mosso.