43050 Vacheron Constantin Mercator

Before the first Zeitwerk, Vagabondage, or Urwerk, Vacheron Constantin went out on a limb with a very unique time display. It was 1994 and Audemars Piguet had just released the Star Wheel. Where the inspiration for the Star Wheel came from a 17th c. Papal clock, VC had an idea waiting in their own history. Looking back through their rather immense archives of one-off high watchmaking retrograde displays like their Bras en l’Air pocket watches and the Don Pancho, Vacheron Constantin decided to create on one of most the most elevated retrograde-based wristwatches there had ever been. This was how the Mercator came to be.

1994 was the 400th anniversary of Gerardus Mercator, the inventor of map projection (precursor to world maps we use today). The dial here is a stylized map of the Americas, though many other regions were available and commissioned as dials by clients. Each dial started as a solid gold blank which has been engraved and carefully filled with black enamel by Jean and Lucie Genbrugge. Along with many details such as a ship at 10, the two enamelers signed their work J&L Genbrugge at 4. I don’t have any personal connection to cartography, the significance of Mr. Mercator escapes me. But I love a world map dial, particularly as out of place as this one is on a non-world-time watch. All are powered by a thoroughly revised JLC 920 ébauche. There is that mix of artistry, history, and traditional watchmaking that VC do so well. It is said that each dial took 12 days to craft.

Although initially planned to be a small run of 50, demand from clients saw the Mercator enter production for a decade. In that time 638 examples were made (VC keep great records). There are many variations and client commissions depicting various countries in either cloisonné enamel, engraved enamel, as well as some more accessible acid etched dial non-enamel variants. A few known commissions even strayed from the map theme. For example, you’ll see here at the end one example depicting the Chinese Zodiac and another (famous or perhaps infamous) example depicting the nose of a Ferrari Enzo, made for Ferrari management. The Mercator was once an under-the-radar neo-vintage gem, but today is very much becoming correctly appreciated as quite a beautiful and beautifully made piece of 90s watchmaking history it is. Not the Don Pancho, but the Don of Retrogrades.

This example featuring the Americas is one of the lesser seen main production variants. Its dial has two very small marks that should be noted. The case is fantastic. It comes from a well-regarded, newer retailer doing awesome work in neo-vintage.