Christian Selmoni, Artistic Director, Vacheron Constantin, is busy shaping the brand that is very much steeped in tradition. A classical brand that seeks creative challenges in watchmaking, redefines elegance, creates slim marvels and even develops the most complicated pocket watch ever. With a strong family tradition in watchmaking, Christian Selmoni has been helping create history, while continually upholding excellence in craftsmanship. Azyaamode caught up with Christian Selmoni at SIHH, Geneva, to learn more.

Could you take us through the key moments of change at Vacheron Constantin?

I joined the company in 1990, and have been a witness to many changes. At that time, watchmaking was making a comeback; also the quest for complications saw us rebuilding our mechanical watches with high complications – the tourbillon complication is a key example. We have been able to bring to our wider audience all this engineering, which is watchmaking. So, for me this is the most interesting aspect of what I have witnessed. In fact, when I joined the company, I never thought watchmaking would be as important or interesting as it is now.

How do you balance the artistic and technical creative worlds of Vacheron Constantin?

Our brand dates back to 1755 and our mission has always been to follow the path of the previous generations. We work to find the right balance between the technical part of watchmaking and the aesthetical part – this balance is at the center of our occupation. It is not always easy to achieve. For instance, this year, we have a wonderful watch with great beautiful complications and we managed to build something that is elegant and thin.

The 57260 pocket watch has 57 complications displayed on the two faces, and I would say that it is almost impossible to design such a watch. However, we did it. We always strive to make the best efforts we can to balance aesthetics with technicality.

How long does it take usually to work on a collection, especially the Métier d’art?

In terms of product design and development, it is a tough job. Sometimes, you get good ideas and think you can create a wonderful combination but eventually it does not work out. In the Métier d’art, it is really a matter of finding good ingredients and being able to combine these in a satisfactory way. As a result, Métier d’art watches need time for development – even longer than that required for complicated watches. In fact, one of our projects has been three years in the making. Sometimes, you have to leave enough time for this kind of watch, maybe five years. It is a very different kind of watchmaking, honestly.

Is the price affected by the intricacy in the creative process?

We do not design our watches with the design cost in mind because we would certainly lose the emotional value of these watches, which is the most important element. Métier d’art collection is a very creative arena in our watchmaking style and this collection is very important to us.

What are your favorite pieces?

I really like simple watches because they are very difficult to design – and finding a simple watch that is elegant and sophisticated is a tough shot. My favorite piece is from a collection from three years ago and this is a combination of hand gear charge – engraving using machines and enameling.

What are this year’s new launches?

This year, we are launching the Overseas casual sports collection that has existed since 1996. We had one generation from 1996 till 2004 and the second generation from 2004 till now. This is an elegant sports watch and we have five models – ladies timepiece, chronograph automatic, the ultra thin, simple and ultra thin complicated with a calendar. The Overseas collection is a big part of the segment because elegant sports watch is something that we have been doing for decades. While creating this collection, we wanted to mix our classical style with a modern design. All the movements feature the Geneva mark and are in-house movements. This is the key element of the collection because in the past we featured movements from other suppliers. Another important aspect is the special dial and special blue color. We decided to develop a special kind of blue – we apply layers of blue and once the lacquer is solid, we craft the window and the date, and set the indexes. The result is a very deep and interesting type of blue with a lot of different shades.

Smitha Sadanandan