4300V Vacheron Constantin Overseas Perpetual Calendar

The first Overseas QP, or sporting QP of any kind from VC, debuted in 2016. This was, notably, some time after 1984—which is when the Royal Oak QP came out. This is the first Overseas QP, a very recent addition to the catalogue by comparison. This forced the hand of Patek Philippe, (who’d been dawdling with annual calendars), who brought the Nautlius to full QP 2018. What this 4300V doesn’t have is historical weight. But what it lacks there, it makes up for in refinement. It’s 1.5mm thinner than the current Royal Oak QP, 8mm in total. It might be the unobvious choice, but it delivers on value.

What you might not notice immediately is the leap year quadrant in the top subdial, which rotates through its full track once per four years, a carry-over from the OG 43031. In fact, it is the very same calibre 1120 QP here albeit updated, a Dubois-Depraz JLC 920 ébauche. AP and VC both have their own in-house production variations of this ébauche, one of the longest lived perpetual calendars. You also might not notice that it still carries a Geneva Seal. And you definitely won’t notice that the moonphase disc’s stars aren’t just random, they’re engraved then gilded in the shape of constellations. It’s a large-ish watch, but with level of refinement few can contend with. From the thinness to the technical points, it succeeds. Plus, none of its peers have the option to quickly throw it on rubber to go jump in a lake. This is a notably modern improvement. It’s peak complicated pancake.

The 4300V isn’t a hyper rare watch, but none of these holy trinity QPs are. Plus, it is only precious metal. None of this ‘steel as luxury’ Genta nonsense, gold is luxury as far as VC are concerned. One has to like that. Nine out of ten possible buyers will have picked the Royal Oak. Which means the 4300V is for people who just love a well-made object and eschew hype. I wonder how history will remember this effort and, perhaps even more pertinently, how the QP Overseas will evolve. For us who care, it’s the best integrated QP you never see in the wild.

This example has a great case, there's not much to comment on condition with watches this modern. The retail market does really seem to care a lot about the set with these, and it comes with its full set, from a well-regarded London retailer.