SJX Watches
Interview: Christian Selmoni, Style & Heritage Director at Vacheron Constantin
Recently in Singapore for The Anatomy of Beauty, an exhibition dedicated to Vacheron Constantin’s watchmaking over the decades, Christian Selmoni has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the brand. Now the brand’s Style & Heritage Director, Mr Selmoni joined Vacheron Constantin (VC) in January 1992. His tenure of almost 31 years has given him an innate sense of the brand and its philosophy as well as a wide-ranging perspective on its timepieces over the years. We had a chat with Mr Selmoni to hear more about the brand’s most interesting creations, ranging from the 22”’ observatory-certified tourbillon movements of the 1920s to the modern-day Celestia grand complication. The interview was edited for length and clarity. SJX: The Singapore exhibition has a good selection of the complicated, historical, and artisanal. What’s your favourite out of all that? Christian Selmoni (CS): It’s a tricky question, but one that immediately comes to my mind – the 22”’ tourbillon because I love this this calibre. VC made the movement in the 1920s; around 20 movements were sent for observatory contests. Once the contests were over, the movements were put in a tray somewhere. Then at the beginning of the 1990s, we made six or seven pocket watches with 22”’ tourbillon movements that had been totally refurbished and decorated. They were made for John Asprey in London. All of the [Asprey pocket watches] were unique, either in material or decoration, and some were set with ge...
