Vacheron Constantin Celebrates 30 Years Of Overseas With An Ultra Thin Perpetual Calendar

The Overseas turns 30 this year, and Vacheron Constantin really knows how to celebrate. To mark the occasion, they'r releasing a special anniversary edition of the Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin, one of their most impressive watches. This edition changes nothing mechanically. It adds a new azure dial, and that turns out to be enough.

The white gold case measures 41.5mm wide and an incredible 8.1mm thick, with the iconic tonneau shape and six-notched bezel sitting on a round base. Surfaces alternate between brushed and polished bevels, there's sapphire crystals front and back, and a soft-iron inner case for antimagnetic protection. The one compromise they had to make is the crown. Where standard Overseas models get a screw-down crown and 150 meters of water resistance, the QP has a push-pull crown and 50 meters water resistance. And while not a lot of people are swimming in a CHF 120,000 perpetual calendar, it does stretch the definition of sports watch.

The dial is the biggest change for this watch. It's lacquered with a sunburst, with a lighter and softer color than the 2016 blue. Three recessed, snailed sub-dials keep the layout symmetrical: a 48-month counter at 12 o'clock with leap years in light blue, date at three, day at nine. The same light blue shows up in the Arabic numerals on the minute track, which ties everything together. At six, a white gold moon sits against an engraved starry sky. The applied white gold indices and hands are filled with Super-LumiNova that glows blue.

Inside is the in-house calibre 1120 QP/1, an automatic just 4.05mm thick with 276 components, beating at 2.75Hz with 40 hours of power reserve. It carries the Hallmark of Geneva, and the solid 22k gold rotor is engraved with a compass rose. That 40 hour power reserve is a bit unnerving, because if you let a perpetual calendar stop, you'll be in a world of hurt resetting. The watch comes on an integrated white gold bracelet with tapering half-Maltese-cross links with 2mm of micro-adjustment per side in the clasp. The quick-change system lets you swap to the included white rubber or denim blue rubber straps, both fitted with a white gold pin buckle.

The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar Ultra-Thin 30th Anniversary, reference 4300V/220G-H119, is limited to 200 pieces and it's priced at CHF 120,000. See more on the Vacheron Constantin website.