Go into any watch group, onto any watch forum, look at any watch-related Instagram profile, etc. and you’ll see tons of people with their Patek Philippe (typically the Nautilus and Aquanaut) and Audemars Piguet (99.9999% chance of it being a Royal Oak) watches. The chances of these people knowing more than just the skin deep information in the world of horology are slim, but still we are bombarded with constant reminders that these are the only two trinity members that “matter”… at least when it comes to sports models. What about Vacheron Constantin though?
In the years since the recent revamp of the Overseas line in 2016, Vacheron has been doing a ton to expand their Overseas collection. Currently the collection is comprised of a time and date, an ultra-thin, a dual time, a world time, an ultra-thin perpetual calendar, and, the most popular of the bunch, a chronograph. Some of the models are available in different metals as well which include stainless steel, yellow gold and stainless steel, and yellow gold. Additionally, Vacheron has created a women’s line for the Overseas as well in a time & date with subsidiary seconds where the metal options are the same as above, but the bezels have the option of remaining purely metal or being set with diamonds.
For the men’s watches the initial release of the new design included a white dial, brown dial, and the most popular blue dial, but this year Vacheron released a black dial as well. I’m not fully sure why they’d wait so long to release such a basic color when something like blue or brown seems like it should have been the later release, but in any case the collection now has a full line of colors. It should be noted though that since the release of the black dial models, the brown dial version seems to have been limited to just a time & date and no longer includes a chronograph.
A big new step with the collection is the update to a quick change strap system. New Overseas models come with a bracelet, a matching alligator strap, and a matching rubber strap with an understated “V” (for Vacheron) motif.
Best of all with the 2016 update, the blue models have really amazing dials. The center of the dial is a flat blue, while the indices have somewhat of a sunburst finish. When light bounces off the dial the sunburst indices take on a jewel-tone blue color which looks great dancing around the flat blue center. The men’s collection includes sizes of 40mm for the ultra-thin, 41 mm for the time & date and the dual time models, 41.5 for the ultra-thin perpetual calendar, 42.5mm for the chronograph, and 43.5mm for the world time. The entire women’s collection is sized at 37mm.
The Overseas is very comfortable on the wrist, and is very versatile at least when it comes to the time & date, ultra-thins, and dual time models. Those could very easily be dressed up, whereas the chronograph is much more sporty and the world time loses its versatility just to the sheer size of it at 43.5mm. Purely in terms of comfort I would definitely pick an Overseas over a Royal Oak, especially in a chronograph configuration, as the Overseas just feels better for my wrist. I’m not sure though about where it would rank compared to a Nautilus bracelet… I love the Overseas’ dial over the majority of comparable Royal Oaks and definitely over almost all Nautiluses (Nautili?). The Aquanaut is the only comparable watch that would make picking the Overseas a difficult choice. Both are very comfortable and look great while not having the “celebrity” factor of their competitors (and big brother in the case of the Aquanaut).
The rotor on the Overseas is beautiful as well and the watch overall is just very well done. I wouldn’t hesitate recommending one of these Vacheron sports watches for a second if a friend of mine was looking for something in this category. They may not be as widespread as the other brands’ sports watches in pop culture, etc., but go into a Vacheron dealer sometime and just try one on. It might not be the next watch that you lust after, but you certainly won’t be disappointed with it. The Overseas line is a very solid offering from Vacheron and it doesn’t get the recognition it deserves. I give Vacheron an A- on this collection.
Time & date model in stainless steel retails for $20,900 and the stainless steel chronographs retail for $30,200.
For a full list of complications, metal options, and dial options please visit:
http://www.vacheron-constantin.com/en2/watches/overseas.html