Vacheron Constantin Turns to Nature and Rare Crafts for the “Tribute to the Animal Kingdom” Series

Vacheron Constantin has unveiled the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom Collection, a series of six extraordinary timepieces that celebrate artisanal craft and natural symbolism. Each watch is a unique canvas where traditional techniques such as engraving, enameling, embroidery, and marquetry are elevated into horological art. The collection reflects the Maison’s long‑standing commitment to blending fine watchmaking with métiers d’art, offering collectors rare expressions of creativity and cultural storytelling.

The Feathersnake presents an amphibious serpent coiling through foliage, assembled by micro-plumasserie specialist Julien Vermeulen. The exquisite dial showcases delicate feather marquetry, creating a serpentine motif that captures movement and texture with remarkable realism. The dial work itself is composed of goose feathers, with over 200 tiny pieces derived from seven rare Lophophore feathers applied to silk paper and a 3D metal appliqué.

Meanwhile, the aquatic kingdom is brought to life through three distinct, sculptural interpretations. The Glassoctopus features a transparent octopus sculpted from glass rods dot-by-dot using tungsten tools by artist Simone Crestani, set over a dark blue hand-guilloché gold dial base. Exploring the deep sea through paper, the Oraygami showcases six micro-origami manta rays folded by Anja Midori from self-dyed Japanese paper, mounted at varying heights on fine brass stems over a blue hand-guilloché surface with a moiré-effect crystal.

Representing land and sky, three additional timepieces demonstrate extreme miniaturization in textiles, paper, and wood. The Tigerbroidery captures a prowling tiger embroidered by Laura Baverstock using 9-karat yellow and white gold threads alongside ceramic-coated copper wires on a green silk base, fitted to a perforated titanium dial plate. The Papercroc depicts an all-white crocodile amidst snow-like vegetation, crafted by Marianne Guély through laser cutting and heat-embossing 250g and 300g white cotton papers.

Last but not least, the Woodenwings presents a falcon carved from 12 distinct wood species by Anna Le Corno. It combines both circular background marquetry, sculpted layered marquetry, and a feather-by-feather wing assembly cantilevered over the dial.

All six timepieces are housed in 42mm cases, crafted in either 18K white gold or 18K 5N pink gold. Each watch also features a 22K gold oscillating weight hand-engraved with artisan tool motifs, a 40-hour power reserve, and 3 bar of water resistance. To complete the thematic continuity, every piece is paired with a dedicated calfskin strap embossed with patterns that mirror the artwork on its dial. For more information, head over to Vacheron Constantin’s official website.