Vacheron Constantin 'Mercator Europe to Asia Enamel' 18K gold watch

Made by Vacheron Constantin of Geneva, in 1994, this excellent timepiece is an 18K yellow gold wristwatch, No. 45 in the 'Mercator Europe to Asia Enamel' line. It features a double sector graduated dial for the 12-hour and 60-minute indications, against a polychrome, cloisonné enamel map showing Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia, after a map of 1587 by Gerardus Mercator, a 16th century geographer and cartographer from Flanders.

Self-winding and water resistant, the wristwatch features a 22K yellow gold plated dial; the double sector graduation consists of painted Arabic numerals and indexes, and the yellow-gold hands are in the style of compasses. The movement, a rhodium-plated, 36 jewels straight line lever escapement has features such as a self-compensating flat balance-spring, a shock absorber, and a metallic balanced adjusted to heat and cold. The 21K gold rotor segment is engraved '1594 - Mercator - 1994,' celebrating the humanist's death's quatercentenary.

The Mercator watches in Vacheron Constantin's Géographique line are inspired by the work and maps of Gerardus Mercator, and the Belgian enamellers Lucie and Jean Genbrugge, whose signature is to the base of the dial, are responsible for the dial design, and also contributed to the design of the movement.

Ref. 43050, movement No. 798495, case No. 674013. Made in 1994, and first sold October 23rd, 1996.