It may seem like Vacheron Constantin’s latest Overseas Tourbillon fits the season, with the Lunar New Year just having passed and all, but if there was ever a reason to refresh the Overseas collection, true fans of the brand won’t need it. Plus, when has anyone ever resisted having another versatile watch hit the market?

Versatile here is relative, however. As it takes a special someone to treat this beauty as a ‘go anywhere, do anything’ watch. But it does fill that gap in a typical collector’s dreams, a watch that can say “I’m special” thanks to its tourbillon alone, but also remain inconspicuous enough during day-to-day tasks.

Then again, one is not going to be unnoticed with that lovely shade of burgundy. The official title of colour is deep red, though that depends on which angle you tilt the dial at. The sunburst finishing will trick you into thinking that this is a gradient watch, and you’ll have a hard time making up your mind on whether it’s too light a colour or just right. But that’s the magic of these dial finishes. Plus, it being a two-handed timepiece with no other ostentatiousness other than the tourbillon allows you to enjoy the red just a little bit more.

Besides the bracelet, you also get two other rubber straps—deep red and white—when you acquire this watch. These three options affect the colour of the dial as well, almost like how the hue of your shirt can bring out the colour in your eyes. Switching straps is as easy as changing shirts, too, thanks to the Grade 5 titanium folding clasp.

And yes, we’re finally broaching on the topic of titanium, because there are so many features to highlight first that it takes time before we can get to the titanium case and bracelet. The main effect here is that the watch becomes that much lighter, but there’s so much more to harp on about the Overseas Tourbillon that we should quickly head on to the next feature.

Adding on to all this is the size of the dial which, at 42.5mm in diameter, affords just enough real estate for the appreciative eye. And if you let that eye roam further, you’ll find elements of the Maltese cross implemented throughout the watch. 

You don’t even need to look far. The bezel itself showcases the lines of the cross, and so too does the bracelet. Then you have the cross within the tourbillon itself, acting as a nice counterpart to the Vacheron Constantin logo at 12 o’clock. It’s almost like an ‘if you know, you know’ Easter egg, one that avid followers of the brand will notice, but would fly under the radar otherwise. 

Also, you know what else would fly under the radar? The whole case. Because while 42.5mm is not exactly the smallest diameter in the grand scale of watches, the 10.39mm in thickness makes me reluctant to even use that word. We should instead describe this watch as 10.39mm thin, an innocent fact that is made even more impressive, seeing how tourbillons and automatic movements in general tend to add sideways heft to watches.

And when you turn the watch around to peek at the movement through the see-through caseback, you will get a hint of why this watch is as thin as it is. For one, it uses a peripheral rotor. And two, all the mechanisms just sit so flush atop each other. Even the most casual of watch fans will notice how little tolerance there is between each component, and that’s probably the reason why it is as thin as it is.

This Calibre 2160 movement runs up to 80 hours, at a frequency of 18,000 vibrations per hour, with the latter being a rather interesting figure for the watch to beat at. 

Perhaps this is where we should end this piece, because words will never do this watch justice. As always, the best way to experience this watch will be to touch and feel one for yourself.