Late last week, Vacheron Constantin – one of the oldest continually extant watchmakers in Switzerland – quietly reopened its digs at 88 Collins Street, in the heart of Melbourne’s premiere fashion precinct.
The March opening follows a period of exhaustive renovation, during which the original boutique’s multistorey heritage-listed spaces were reenvisioned to better integrate the stylings of the Genevan maison with Australia’s distinctive cultural iconography.
“[It’s] more than a haute horlogerie showroom,” says Amy Jackson-Lai. The Brand Director for Australia & New Zealand went on to explain how the vast majority of spaces feature “elements inspired by our land and sea… [reflecting] both watchmaking excellence and a deep connection to the community.”
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The focal point of this “connection,” as Jackson-Lai calls it, can be found in the boutique’s second-storey salon. A massive island-style countertop pulls the whole room together, which is awash in colours inspired by native Aussie flora. Redgums, desert gravel, jewel-blue coastlines – you get the gist.
Shaped like a boomerang, the boutique’s dry bar is a clever bit of aesthetic subversion: hinting at the sharp edges of the Maltese Cross – Vacheron Constantin’s logo, which abounds elsewhere in the boutique.
In the ‘Blue Room’, immediately adjacent, the brand’s collectors will find a straightforward lounge setup foregrounded by displays of red marble (again, a beautiful but fairly unequivocal nod to the Australian landscape).
Still, for all the Antipodean trappings, there’s no mistaking these zhuzhed Melburnian digs for anything other than the home of Vacheron Constantin.
The building’s previous life – as a residence and, later, medical suites – have gifted it with plentiful domestic features: ceilings are airily vaulted, while a full-size terrace makes for the perfect perch to observe life on Collins Street with a glass of Louis Roederer in hand.
“That is of course unless clients are handling dozens of our watches on the Salon floor,” says Gael Porte, MD for Southeast Asia. “Then it’s a security requirement we keep things inside.”
While Porte is nominally in town to cut the ribbon on the new boutique, the reason he’s concerned about the sheer volume of wrist candy in the room is – in large part – thanks to our readers’ event.
RELATED: Vacheron Constantin’s Legendary 222 Is Back – But This Time In Steel
Over a few well-sherried Scotches supplied by The GlenDronach Australia, we invited 30 subscribers of B.H. Magazine to explore an all-star lineup of our favourite Vacheron Constantin timepieces. Predictably, the new 222 in stainless steel garnered a lot of initial attention (especially when worn next to its yellow gold sibling).
But as the hours passed, and The Glendronach team pulled out the big guns – including a 1993 single cask, bottled exclusively for Australia – we got to witness a broadening of interests.
Subsequently, there was a lot of chatter around the open-faced Traditionnelle Tourbillon Retrograde and – to my own delight and surprise – the American 1921, a design that isn’t for everybody yet widely beloved by individualists.
Check out a selection of our favourite moments from the Vacheron Constantin x Boss Hunting event below.
