Vacheron Constantin Malte - Watchmaker´s Logo is Inspiration Behind Timepieces

Bearing the name of the company´s logo, Vacheron Constantin Malte watch collection was designed to be strong and powerful, as the Maltese Cross itself. In a kind of getting-back-to-basics effort, the world´s oldest uninterrupted watchmakers have reinvented and improved on previous timepieces in this collection, focusing on simple, contemporary design and displaying many of the company´s horological accomplishments over the past two-and-a-half centuries, including the caliber 1400, the company´s first in-house manual wind movement.

First introduced in 2000, the original collection included a tourbillon with power reserve and date; and a chronograph with perpetual calendar and a dual time regulator. In the current Vacheron Constantin "Malte" collection, the tourbillon, chronograph and dual time regulator get a face lift and a moon phase and power reserve model is added. Each case in the watch collection has a tonneau, or barrel shape, and the movement is designed with the same unique shape. The tonneau shape was first introduced by the VC company in 1912, a departure from its exclusively round design.

The tourbillon models bear the Maltese Cross emblem in the tourbillon carriage, which is the "Malte" collection´s namesake. The Maltese Cross logo first appeared on a Vacheron Constantin watch in 1880. The chronograph models, which offer stopwatch capabilities, are adorned with two sub-dials for the chronograph functions, and a third sub-dial for the lunar phases and date. Four dual time watches are offered in the collection, providing sub-dials for two different time zones. The dual time watches are available in 18-carat white gold or 5N pink gold, with one offering a brilliant cut diamond-studded case. The moon phase and power-reserve watches indicate the hours, minutes, small second and moon phases, displayed on a hand-guilloche face, an intricate decorative engraving technique. A power reserve display is an additional feature to the moon phase watches, and they are available in 18-carat white gold or 5N pink gold.

Every watch in the "Malte" collection, as with all Vacheron Constantin watches, is stamped with the Hallmark of Geneva, a certificate granted to only those watchmakers that meet strict criteria in the areas of watch movement and aesthetics. Each watch has to be examined by the Board of the Commission of the Hallmark of Geneva and pass 12 criteria for issuance. The VC company received its first certification in 1901, and is one of only a handful of Genevan watchmakers that can bear the prestigious seal.