1st Series — Introduced in1983
The Perpetual Calendar Complication
A highly complex complication, perpetual calendar displays and automatically adjusts the day, date , month & moonphase as well as leap years. As longs as it is kept moving, it won’t require any manual adjustment for month , years, decades, even centuries.
Perpetual calendar brings us to the complication and we love so much. Now that you understand how watch lover crazy complicated the concept of the leap year is, you can comprehend how difficult it must be to create a mechanism that takes into account the date, days, months, years, the 30-31 cycle, the 28 days of February, the extra day every four years, every 100th year without the leap day, every 400th year with the leap day, and so on. In 1762, English watchmaker named Thomas Mudge did exactly that. He did the impossible and created the perpetual calendar complication in a pocket watch.
Against all difficult, the perpetual calendar was popular once again towards the end of the 20th century. Between 1978 and 1985, most of famous brands eg Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe all introduced their ultra-thin, automatic perpetual calendars. These were one of the first perpetual calendars to be produced in a series.
Vacheron Constantin released their automatic, ultra-thin perpetual calendar wristwatch (ref 43031) in 1983, followed a year later, in 1984, by a skeletonised version (ref. 43032). Vacheron Constantin make use the mythical Jaeger-LeCoultre 920 movement , which was the thinnest automatic movement in the world when it came out in 1967. They then reworked a perpetual calendar module from Dubois-Depraz, a famed module manufacturer, who has supplied Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin, amongst others. The product was the Caliber 1120 QP – based on the legendary automatic calibre 1120 of 1967 with its 2.45mm height. Designed and manufactured by Jaeger-LeCoultre as calibre 920, the ultra-thin ébauche was used by Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin, but never by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The current patrimony urlta thin perpetual calendar has manufactured in-house by Vacheron and certified with the Hallmark of Geneva, the incorporation of the QP module results in a height of just 4.05mm.
The VC 43031 Perpetual calendar has been in production around 20 years and there are different type of combination has produced with different metals , dials and bracelet.
The Dial
The 48-month calendar with leap year indicator is shown at 12 o’clock. The date and day can be found at 3 and 9 o’clock, with all sub-dials slightly recessed into the dial surface surrounded by 3 cabochons and 8 index batons. The dial is signed SWISS only, and fonts are a mix of serif for alphabet and san serif for numerals, an interesting approach for legibility. A sapphire crystal protects the dial with the movement hidden behind a snap-on case-back. 1st Series are found exclusively with a solid case-back with the hallmarks at 12 and case number at 6. Rather interestingly, the dial indications are in French, different from the manufacturer’s Swiss lineages.
Whilst most examples of the reference 43031 have a plain, opaline dial, this piece features a subtle guilloché pattern which contrasts with the sub-dials, which are slightly recessed and feature a more restrained, circular finish that creates some interesting effects when the watch interacts with the light at different angles, whilst on the wrist. The hands for the sub-dials are made out of bluing steel, which adds contrast to the overall design. Rather interestingly, the moonphase is made out of lapis lazuli, a deep blue metamorphic rock, which has been used for jewelry and decorative objects since antiquity. The yellow gold case features a stepped bezel and a straight, reminiscent of those found on vintage pieces. Four pushers on the corner of the case allow for the perpetual calendar indications to be set. The 36mm in diameter and less than 8mm thick, this ref. 43031 sits comfortably on the wrist along with a nice tailor made strap.
The Movement
This Vacheron Constantin ref. 43031 is powered by the 1120/2, derived from Jaeger-LeCoultre’s ultra-thin JLC 920 movement. The product was the Caliber 1120 QP – based on the legendary automatic calibre 1120 of 1967 with its 2.45mm height. Designed and manufactured by Jaeger-LeCoultre as calibre 920, the ultra-thin ébauche was used by Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin, but never by Jaeger-LeCoultre.
The rotor is ornamented with Geneva stripes and rimmed with 21-carat gold, to increase the swinging mass. This movement carries the Geneva Seal, which is unique in its accreditation as it focuses on the art of decorating a movement with fineness, in the technique of Genevan watchmaking.
The ultra-thin automatic 1120/2 calibre features 36 working jewels, and four ruby wheels to support the full-diameter rotor, which runs on a beryllium rail for stability. Vacheron Constantin also replaced the free-sprung Gyromax balance from the original Jaeger-LeCoultre movement with an index regulator.
