Vacheron Constantin’s Animal Kingdom watches feature a paper crocodile, embroidered tiger and glass octopus

Vacheron Constantin has just launched its new series inspired by the Animal Kingdom. Featuring six concept watches that use six different disciplines, the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom features an embroidered tiger, glass octopus, paper crocodile, and more – and I can’t decide which one I like the most.

For this new collection, Vacheron Constantin launched its “One of Not Many Crafts Programme”. The project invited six artisans to introduce their craft onto a watch dial, and let me tell you, the results don’t disappoint.

All six concept watches have a 42mm case with a thickness of 12.9mm. There’s about 4mm of height between the dial’s sapphire and the sapphire crystal that covers it to allow the dial designs to have a three-dimensional effect. The case is available in either 18kt white gold or 18kt 5N pink gold, depending on which watch you choose.

The Calibre 2460 G4 automatic movement powers the watch, and it can be seen through the sapphire caseback. It has a 22kt gold oscillating weight and if you look closely, you can see small tool decorations hand engraved on it, as inspired by the tools used by the artisans on the project.

Aside from the bold animal designs, the dial of the Animal Kingdom watches have four windows on each ‘corner’ which shows the hours, minutes, day and date. Each watch is finished with a calfskin strap which has subtle decorations as inspired by the animals on the dial.

Onto the most exciting part of the watches – the animals. As mentioned, six concept watches have been made: Feather snake, Glass octopus, Tiger embroidery, Paper croc, Wooden falcon and origami.

Starting with Feather snake, the dial showcases a blue, green and gold snake that sits atop grass. It’s made from featherwork and a specially developed metal appliqué, and it took around 250 hours to make.

Glass octopus is – you guessed it – made from glass. The miniature glass octopus looks like it’s swimming on top of a dark blue background, and is made of shaped glass rods that showcase its tentacles.

Tiger embroidery is the most colourful design, and it features a tiger head made from 9kt yellow and white gold embroidery wires. The black stripes are made from ceramic-coated black wires over a copper base. The entire design is stitched directly onto the watch’s bespoke perforated titanium dial plate.

No guesses here, the Paper croc is made from microscopic cotton paper. The crocodile and dial is all white, and is surrounded by snow-covered vegetation. The design sits high above the dial and even overlaps the four windows.

The Wooden falcon is made from 12 different types of wood which has been carved into an intricate bird. Its wings are incredibly detailed, and you can see the different feathers and plumage on the body of the falcon. Origami features six manta rays on top of a deep blue background. Each manta ray is made from dyed Japanese hand-folded paper which is then mounted on a fine brass stem.

After much consideration, I think my favourite from the series is the Paper croc. From a distance, the watch looks unassuming but once you get closer, you can see the intricacies and expertise of the 3D crocodile that almost swims across the dial.

Prices on the Vacheron Constantin Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Animal Kingdom are available on request.