An exhibition of the exceptional watchmaking heritage of the Manufacture, from June 24th to August 14th 2011, at the National Museum of Singapore.
The upcoming exhibition is the first major public exhibition of the heritage of the world’s oldest watch manufacturer, Vacheron Constantin. The exhibition will showcase the legacy of watchmaking since 1755, and reveal the details about more than 250 years of ingenuity and savoir faire. Visitors are invited to an exceptional journey circling around the spirit of the artisans cabinotiers of the 18th century and exploring three aspects that strongly define the history of Vacheron Constantin: the evolution of the time telling, of its crafts and artistic influences.
The exciting exhibition promises traveling back in time via 180 exceptional pieces from the heritage of the Manufacture. The 600 sq m of exhibition space will also reveal archived documents, workbenches of the artisans cabinotiers, watchmaking tools, and machines invented in the Manufacture’s long history.
The pearl of the exhibition, and its central piece, is the pocket watch Les Bergers of Arcadia created in 1923. Les Bergers d'Arcadie are pastoral paintings depicting idealized shepherds from classical antiquity, clustering around an austere tomb. The pocket watch reveals a motif from a painting by Nicolas Poussin (1594–1665). This painting, oil on canvas, is now exhibited in Musée du Louvre. "Et in Arcadia ego" is a phrase that appears on this painting. Translated literally it means "And in Arcadia I," or, alternately, "Even in Arcadia I”. Three shepherds around the grave, death even in Arcadia, a true momento mori which reminds you on your own mortality… As time goes by, hours and minutes flawlessly flow down the imaginary lifeline, and whenever the owner of the watch takes out his precious piece to see what time it is, the admonition of death reveals itself: Hominem te memento! You’re nothing but a human.
"This first major exhibition of ‘Treasures of Vacheron Constantin - A legacy of watchmaking since 1755’ marks the start of a long journey into the cultural richness of our history, one that echoes that of Haute Horlogerie. A story that remains one of the finest demonstrations of a community working together, where every timepiece is the result of a symbiosis of talents and the extraordinary men and women who combine their expertise in pursuit of a common goal. It is our duty to share this heritage representing an invaluable human footprint in history." Juan Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin.
“As this voyage unfolds, we realize that the extensive history of watch-making focuses not only on developmental and technical innovations, but also reflects the evolution of time, history in general as well as trends and patterns in life”, Lee Chor Lin, Director of the National Museum of Singapore.
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