In watchmaking, certain references become touchstones — objects that define not just a moment but a direction. Vacheron Constantin’s 222, launched in 1977 for the house’s 222nd anniversary, is one of those pieces. Its return, under the Historiques banner, is not nostalgia.
It is the house acknowledging that some things were simply right. The 222 was designed by Jorg Hysek at a particular moment in watchmaking history — the early years of the quartz crisis, when Swiss mechanical watches needed to find new relevance. The solution was what the industry came to call sporty-chic: timepieces that combined athletic utility with genuine luxury.
The 222 was among the first and among the finest. Its architecture was genuinely innovative. A flat base topped by a prominent fluted bezel.
A monobloc case achieving water resistance to 120 metres via a screw-down bezel. Thinness of 7mm thanks to an ultra-thin movement measuring just 3.05mm. A bracelet with large hexagonal central links.
The Maltese Cross at 5 o’clock, always present. The reissue stays true to the 37mm reference, originally nicknamed Jumbo. The case is 18K 3N yellow gold.
The in-house self-winding Calibre 2455/2 carries a dedicated oscillating weight engraved with the original 222 logo. The caseback is transparent sapphire. For collectors who understand what the 1970s meant for the mechanical watch industry, this is a significant object. Not because it is rare or expensive — though it is both — but because it represents a moment when a 222-year-old manufacture proved it could be radical without abandoning what made it extraordinary.