Vacheron Constantin goes all out against counterfeiting

Given the backlash across the economic spectrum, it would be easy to forget how much of a bane counterfeiting still is. And yet copycat products continue to do damage to the watch branch. According to the latest report published at Baselworld by Geneva’s IC-Agency, while the number of searches for replica watches online has substantially decreased – dropping 52% in the United States – brands such as Rolex or Omega are still being copied.

The same is true of manufacturers in the much-coveted Fine Watch segment. Esteemed by collectors and other aficionados of Swiss watchmaking expertise, Vacheron Constantin is no less a favourite among barefaced imitators who have no qualms about ripping off the Genevan brand’s models almost as soon as they come onto the market.

Ultra-sophisticated

And yet Vacheron may well have outwitted them with its latest innovation: as well as being entirely customisable, the Quai de l’Ile watch is as secure as a Swiss bank vault.

Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO of the Genevan Manufacture, set this challenge for one of the world’s leading specialists in security printing, the Genevan artist Roger Pfund who designed Switzerland’s banknotes and its current passport. He took inspiration from state-of-the-art security techniques to imagine a series of invisible markings that will make the Quai de l’Ile virtually impossible to copy. Implemented by Orell Füssli Security Printing, the specialist in the field, the security features of the Quai de l’Ile watch are especially concentrated on the dial.

High tech and history

In a unique development, as well as a sapphire crystal the dial is covered with the same transparent chemical security film used on Swiss banknotes. Printed with a micro-text and invisible ink markings, this ultra-sophisticated film is printed on the movement side with concentric lines in a different coloured ink while the pattern on the dial side is made from hundreds of Maltese Crosses, Vacheron Constantin’s emblem.

The sapphire crystal itself is subjected to special treatment known as metallisation, whereby a fine layer of white gold is sprayed onto the surface. Here, this process has been used to draw a tiny sun inspired by the Tour de l’Ile clock in Geneva, where Vacheron Constantin was founded more than 250 years ago. This reference to the brand’s history is more than just an adornment: the invisible disc at the centre of the sun is only visible under ultra-violet light.

Aesthetic innovation

Another way to thwart counterfeiters. And the cherry on the cake is that each watch is delivered with a passport listing its specific characteristics and made from the same materials as our own ID documents.

All that remained was to wrap these futuristic techniques in an elegant exterior, a feat that has once again been beautifully achieved as the Quai de l’Ile ushers in some radical innovations in the sought-after segment of customisation. It can be separated into seven distinct parts that adapt one to the other to produce some 400 different combinations, not to mention the various metals and bracelets to choose from. The watch is conceptualised on a touch screen to visual all the possible permutations. Once finalised, the exclusive model goes into production to be delivered – a rare occurrence in these days of surging watch sales – just a few weeks later.

Presented as a world exclusive at the 2008 SIHH, this concept is as revolutionary as it is elegant. The Quai de l’Ile isn’t afraid to assert its traditional roots while parading a superb contemporary allure, captured in the highly-styled case that will appeal to high-flying young professionals. Proof indeed that in Fine Watchmaking, the oldest Manufacture in the world can also be at the forefront of state-of-the-art technology.