Honouring the Art of Restoration at Homo Faber 2024
From Sept. 01-30, the third edition of Homo Faber will be held at the Giorgio Cini Foundation in Venice under an overarching "The Journey of Life" theme. For this event celebrating craftsmanship, Vacheron Constantin has chosen to celebrate the art of restoration by inviting the Louvre Museum’s cabinet-making workshop. This will provide an opportunity to showcase the work and techniques of Vacheron Constantin’s artisans alongside those of the Louvre.
The art of restoration at Vacheron Constantin
Restoration is an art for which Vacheron Constantin has the deepest respect. Dedicated to creating watches made to last through the centuries, the Maison is committed to maintaining all the watches it has produced since its origins in 1755. Whatever the type of intervention, from a simple one-off overhaul to major repairs involving restoring components to their original condition, the Manufacture's watchmakers have a direct impact on watches’ longevity. As a guarantor of the enduring existence of its watches, even the oldest ones, the Manufacture makes a point of ensuring that restored models retain their original characteristics. To this end, it has a large stock of original components. Should they run out, the watchmakers in its restoration workshops will be able to produce them on vintage machines, according to the historical technical data – plans, diagrams and instructions for use – preserved in the Heritage archives that list every single one of Vacheron Constantin’s creations.
Vacheron Constantin and the Louvre: an artistic and cultural partnership
This science of restoration, passed on from generation to generation for almost three centuries in the Vacheron Constantin workshops, will be highlighted at the forthcoming Homo Faber exhibition, a not-to-be-missed event for contemporary arts and crafts. During the next edition, which takes place at the Giorgio Cini Foundation on the island of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, Vacheron Constantin will once again be taking part alongside the art workshops of the Louvre, which has been partnering with the Maison since 2019.
The art workshops at the Louvre Museum ensure that works of art are presented and conserved in the best possible conditions. Each workshop has its own specificities, touches and techniques, some of which have been handed down since the 19th century.
Artisans at work on site
The restorers from the cabinetmaking workshop at the Louvre Museum are presenting the work they carried out on a mahogany-veneered oak display case with gilded bronze appliqué decoration dating from 1822 and crafted by the famous cabinetmaker Jacob-Desmalter. This creation, along with three other identical display cases, was used to exhibit gems from the royal collections and objects belonging to Marie-Antoinette in the Jewellery Room at the Louvre.
Alongside them, Vacheron Constantin's watchmakers present the work involved in restoring antique watches. The booth and its display cases feature a number of timepieces from Vacheron Constantin's private collection, including a 1985 Lady Kalla jewellery watch, a 1908 pocket watch and three historic American 1921 watches, including the one-off model reproduced in 2021 using period tools and watchmaking techniques. This highly complex project is a perfect illustration of the Maison’s commitment to its heritage and to passing on its expertise.
Homo Faber 2024
The Journey of Life
Art Direction by Luca Guadagnino and Nicolò Rosmarini
Curated by Michelangelo Foundation For Creativity & Craftsmanship
1 - 30 September 2024
10 am to 7 pm
Venice, Fondazione Giorgio Cini
Homo Faber 2024: The Journey of Life is the third edition of Homo Faber Biennial, a celebration of contemporary craftsmanship in Venice curated by the Michelangelo Foundation for Creativity and Craftsmanship, a non-profit institution based in Switzerland, which champions craftspeople with the aim of promoting a more human, inclusive and sustainable future.
Vacheron Constantin heritage timepieces on display at Homo Faber:
Pendant watch – 1908
Before securing their watches to their wrists, women preferred to wear them as pendants, as exemplified by this dainty jewellery piece from 1908. The subtly guilloché caseback is adorned with a translucent aqua green translucent enamel applied using the flinqué technique, inlaid with fine lace-like platinum appliques set with rose-cut diamonds. Topped by a yellow gold bow, this composition is decorated in keeping with the period’s Art Nouveau aesthetic that favoured naturalist-inspired compositions. The silver-toned dial also features a delicate central setting with black Arabic numerals and railway minutes track.
Lady Kalla – 1985
The Lady Kalla has been a reference among jewellery watches since its creation in 1980. Carved from a block of 18K yellow gold, it is set with more than 120 emerald-cut white diamonds selected with meticulous patience, as their purity, hue and proportions require patient research. Its dial is also paved with 15 emerald-cut diamonds. Combining High Watchmaking and High Jewellery, Lady Kalla features a baguette-type hand-wound 17-jewel mechanical movement beating at 19,800 vibrations per hour. Like all Vacheron Constantin movements, it is adorned with a Côtes de Genève pattern. The crown is positioned under the movement so as to enable the gems’ full brilliance to shine through unhindered.
American 1921 – 1919
The origins of Vacheron Constantin's American 1921 go back to this model made in 1919. Vacheron Constantin was experimenting with different case shapes at the time, always in very limited numbers. The wristwatch had become a genre in its own right and was steadily gaining popularity. Several examples of this model were produced in 1919 with small seconds on a round enamelled dial featuring 11 luminescent Arabic numerals surrounded by a railway minutes track swept over by cathedral hands. The American 1921 model is distinguished first and foremost by its design, with a look defined by its elegantly understated cushion-shaped case. It also stands out for the way it shows the passing of time, with its calibre unexpectedly offset by means of a 45-degree counter-clockwise rotation and enabling diagonal readings. The crown is positioned between 1 and 2 o'clock in the top right-hand corner of the case. The watch is as intriguing as it is seductive.
American 1921 – 1921
In 1921, Vacheron Constantin presented a new small series of its aptly named American 1921 watch for the eponymous market. Behind the unusual design of the timepiece created in the 1920s lies the quintessence of the Roaring Twenties, which for almost a decade sent a wind of renewal blowing across the United States and Europe. Synonymous with artistic and cultural effervescence, it was an era conducive to boldness and to shaking up convention. In Vacheron Constantin’s workshops, the tremendous inventive momentum of these years also gave rise to new perspectives. At a time wristwatches were beginning to take over from pocket watches, advances in watch movement miniaturisation gave free rein to a burst of creativity. This provided scope for all manner of fanciful touches, as demonstrated by this 1921 timepiece embodying a skilful blend of understatement and irreverence, classic elegance and a unique twist.
American 1921 Pièce unique – 2021
Vacheron Constantin celebrated the 100th anniversary of the American 1921 by recreating this emblematic model from scratch. From the 11-ligne Calibre Nouveau to the gold case along with the decorations and exterior components, the American 1921 Pièce unique watch reproduces the original properties of its ancestor created a century ago. This highly complex and unprecedented process involved the most experienced watchmakers in the Restoration workshop and the Vacheron Constantin Heritage team, who spent a year reviving old tools and forgotten know-how in the course of a passionately exciting human and technical adventure.
Louvre object on display at Homo Faber:
Jacob-Desmalter display case – 1822
This mahogany-veneered oak display case with applied gilt bronze decorations belongs to a set of four identical showcases made in 1822 by famous cabinetmaker Jacob-Desmalter to exhibit gems from the royal collections and Marie-Antoinette's collectibles in the Jewellery Room at the Louvre. The skills of the Museum’s current cabinetmakers – who carried out the complete restoration (wood grafting, varnishing using dedicated pads, gilding bronze surfaces, etc.) – will enable these creations to be presented again in autumn-winter 2024 in their original room from which they had been displaced during successive refurbishments of the palace.