You are young and life is long and there is time to kill today - sang Pink Floyd in far-off 1973 from the already legendary Abbey Road Studios. Forty-five years later, the theme of time returns to the London studios, thanks to a partnership with Vacheron Constantin. The Geneva-based Maison could not have selected a more evocative and appropriate location for the international launch of the Fiftysix collection, which was paraded to the press at the last SIHH in Geneva.The launch coincided with the presentation of the new Fiftysix Tourbillon, the latest arrival in the family, inspired by the golden era of design and fabulously swinging taste.
Vacheron Constantin returns to making a splash in watch-making in customary masterful style with the first majortimepiece under the name Fiftysix, an automatic Tourbillon with an ultra-flat pink gold case. The Tourbillon's case is inspired by the Maison's usual emblem – the Maltese Cross– and the internal mechanics allow for a casing of less than 6 mm. During the presentation, the former street artistBenjamin Clementine took to the stage at the famous studios, enthralling the hundred or so invited journalists who jetted in from all corners of the globe; his performance included the song Eternity, the first collaboration between Vacheron Constantin and Abbey Road Studios.
In my two days in the British capital, I was whisked to a variety of activities inspired by the world of Fiftysix, including a visit to the Huntsman atelier, a temple of bespoke tailoring at 11 Savile Row, as well as an alluring mix of tea, cigars and cognac in the fabled private club Annabel's. Darius Namdar, a young cigar sommelier recently crowned worldchampion, demonstrated to the Maison's guests how hisunusual pairing helped him claim victory in the Cuban Habanasommelier Festival 2018: a medium-light El Rey del Mundo Choix accompanied by a commemorative Grand Marnier from the 1920s, with the bitter-sweet notes of orange marmalade bringing your taste-buds to life. A most harmonious symphony tantalising the senses.
Bespoke hugs,
Fabio
