With a diamond-set pink gold case, a lilac mother-of-pearl dial adorned with a ‘pleat’ pattern and nanocapsules - The Égérie concept watch offers a horological experience..
The Égérie concept watch stems from an artistic collaboration between Vacheron Constantin and Yiqing Yin, a "One of Not Many" talent. United in their quest for refinement and a shared vision of excellence, the Manufacture and the Haute Couture designer have come up with the Égérie The Pleats of time, a concept watch.
This creation orchestrates a dialogue between three worlds: Haute Horlogerie, Haute Couture and Haute Parfumerie. The roundness of the 37 mm pink gold case embellished with diamonds, the ‘pleats’ pattern adorning the powdered lilac dial, as well as the asymmetrical geometry so cherished by the Maison whose name appears at 8 o'clock in a diagonal with the moon phase and crown at 2 o'clock.
All combine to create a refined and original feminine silhouette into which Yiqing Yin has instilled an aesthetic appeal that awakens the senses. The Maison and the Haute Couture designer also called on French master perfumer Dominique Ropion to craft an original fragrance that is encapsulated in the watch strap.
Above and beyond the object, a sensory experience
Under Yiqing Yin’s impetus, the Égérie collection reveals a new facet of its personality through a markedly different aesthetic, infused with the designer’s inimitably ethereal universe.The dial is freed from hour-markers, extending an invitation to experience time in an intuitive and emotional way. Crafted in mother-of-pearl, it is draped in a ‘pleats’ pattern that unfolds in two stages across its entire surface: in the centre, encircled by fine gold ‘pearls’, as well as around the edge, extending the folds and hollows. Yiqing Yin chose a soft lilac colour, "a feminine, evanescent shade like a delicate embodiment of a daydream".
This hue also adorns the moon phase sculpted in mother-of-pearl. A row of diamonds enhances the complication, swept over by extremely slender hours, minutes and seconds hands.Yiqing Yin has designed an exclusive strap adorned with exquisite artistic embroidery, in which mother-of-pearl shards are inlaid between silk threads
Invisible yet essential to the personality of this timepiece, a fragrance imagined by master perfumer Dominique Ropion is encapsulated in the strap.
A scent of innovation
The dedicated fragrance specially created for this concept watch stems from numerous exchanges between the master perfumer and the Haute Couture designer. Then came a wealth of creative and brainstorming sessions to combine emotions and formulas until the scent that would embody the Égérie - The Pleats of Time watch came to life.
To ensure this fragrance would echo Yiqing Yin's approach, a meticulous combination of ingredients was created: a mineral and marine accord of ozonic notes and galbanum; notes of lavender and orange blossom; winter freshness based on a honeysuckle and immortelle accord; iridescent highlights with tuberose and ylang-ylang; sunshine in a bottle conveyed by orange and lemon; wisps of time passing through incense (olibanum, myrrh, opoponax) and oud.
Once the fragrance had been defined, the idea was to encapsulate it in the heart of the strap. This led to a comprehensive innovative process in which the droplets of fragrance concentrate were encapsulated. Each component of the strap (lining, loop, embroidery, etc.) was then steeped in these encapsulations. The perfume contained in the nanocapsules is released randomly, as the strap rubs against the skin and in step with wrist movements.
