Vacheron Constantin created the world’s first scented concept watch with fashion designer Yiqing Yin

Imagine wearing a watch that not only tells time, but also releases a fragrance whenever you move. We’re talking about Vacheron Constantin’s concept watch, Egerie - The Pleats of Time, the world’s first timepiece that incorporates the added dimension of scent. One of the showstoppers at Watches and Wonders Geneva this year, the creation is the result of the first-ever creative collaboration between the manufacture and a talent from its One of Not Many initiative, haute couture designer Yiqing Yin.

Launched in 2018, the One of Not Many campaign shines a spotlight on extraordinary individuals who break the mould in their respective industries and pursue excellence with unrelenting passion, much like Vacheron Constantin. Based in Paris, Yin was recognised as an haute couturier in 2015 by the Federation of Haute Couture and Fashion, the governing body for the French fashion industry.

A ONE-OF-A-KIND MASTERPIECE

This timepiece delights the senses in more ways than one. Festooned with diamonds, its 37mm pink gold case frames the powdered lilac dial adorned with an intricate pattern of pleats. Cherished by the maison, the asymmetrical layout with the moon phase and crown at 2 o'clock and the Vacheron Constantin logo diagonally at 8 o'clock, is a masterstroke of refined design.

The magic really begins with Yin’s vision. The dial, made from mother-of-pearl and free of hour-markers, invites you to feel time rather than read it. The designer’s choice of soft lilac – a hue she describes as a delicate daydream – bathes the dial and the moon phase to create a serene, ultra-feminine vibe. Fine pearls of gold encircle the centre, while a diamond-studded moon phase complication adds an understated sparkle. The strap is a showcase of Yin's haute couture expertise. Exquisite embroidery interwoven with mother-of-pearl shards tell a story of nature's elegance, evoking the sinuous course of water and the abstract beauty of lace.

WHERE SCENT AND SCIENCE MEET

But the true marvel lies in the fragrance found in the straps, crafted by master perfumer Dominique Ropion. The cutting-edge process of incorporating the scent was achieved through a partnership with a French company specialising in nanoencapsulation. Here, droplets of encapsulated fragrance concentrate are infused into the heart of the strap components (except for the mother-of-pearl shards). Featuring notes of lavender, orange blossom, and a mineral-marine accord, the bespoke scent is released randomly as the strap rubs against the skin or moves with wrist gestures, turning every glance at the time into a sensory experience.

To complement the Egerie concept watch, Yin created an haute couture dress that echoes its spirit. Featuring pleats and swirling designs, the bespoke gown uses advanced fabric technologies, such as manual bath-dyeing and eco-sensitive nano-dyeing, to create gradient halos that reflect the watch's moire (wavy pattern) dial.

Then there’s also the Egerie Moon Phase, a 100-piece limited edition. Developed in partnership with Yin as well, this timepiece features a 37mm pink gold case with a gem-set bezel and mother-of-pearl dial in soft lilac hues chosen by the designer. The moon phase complication is set within a subtle diagonal line formed by the Vacheron Constantin logo and the crown. On the reverse is Yin’s engraved name, and the in-house Calibre 1088 L via an exhibition caseback. This exclusive edition comes with three interchangeable straps, also chosen by Yin – lilac alligator leather, night blue satin-effect calfskin, and powder pink grained calfskin leather.

To delve deeper into the creative journey behind this one-of-a-kind timepiece, CNA Luxury spoke with the Beijing-born designer at the recent Watches and Wonders Geneva, where she shared insights and valuable lessons learnt from her first venture into the unfamiliar territory of horology.

Merging the worlds of fashion and horology must have presented unique challenges. What were they and how did you overcome them?

It definitely was a big challenge. When Vacheron Constantin approached me, I was quite ignorant about the horology world and all its technical constraints, rigours, and rules. I come from a world where the creative process is soft and very malleable because I work with textiles. I'm free to twist and sculpt it; everything is very intuitive, and the gesture is immediate. Once I’ve an idea, I can create the impact in minutes. On the other hand, the development time for a watch is very long.

Unlike fashion, you can’t take chances in horology because everything is governed and anticipated in a way that leaves no room for error. With textiles, you're free to create, and to even welcome accidents that can turn out to be creative surprises. This may alter the design, so you work very intuitively and naturally. It’s impossible to do this with a timepiece, so we had to find a way of working together, to find a common ground between my need for freedom and fluidity, and the structure, rigidity and set of rules that making a watch presents.

The team at Vacheron Constantin is amazing and so kind. We have mutual admiration and respect for each other. Whenever I presented an idea, they never said, “You’re crazy!” Instead, they were open-minded, willing to listen, test it, and find technical vocabularies to express my ideas, so that was great.

After working with the maison, is there something from the horology world that you now apply to your universe of design?

Yes, focus is something that I learned from this project, because sometimes, less is more. To have that sense of the pursuit of perfection or discipline every time, even if it’s creating a simple thing; I might not have possessed it at that level and I learnt a lot from this collaboration. I’ve also learned to infuse my gestures or creative choices with meaning every time and be conscious of it.

This isn’t your first collaboration with master perfumer Dominique Ropion – he scented a dress you created for Expo 2022 in Dubai, as well as the French Pavilion display there. How did you two meet and how was he roped into this collaboration?

Dominique and I have known each other since 2010, when he first created a perfume for my fashion school diploma collection. That was our first collaboration. Since then, we've worked on many other projects together – either him for my collections, or me to realise his perfumes into shape, like in the case for the Dubai Expo, where we first tested the technical principle of microencapsulation in textile for the dress that was perfumed with his bespoke fragrance.

We developed a common language, so it was really easy for us to work together and understand each other for this Vacheron Constantin project. In perfume, we talk about things that are completely abstract. I feed him words of feelings, colours, textures, which he then scientifically translates into a formula. There’s some magic happening there, which took years to build, because to another perfumer, the same words will mean something completely different. It's a beautiful creative partnership.

When this project came along, I wanted to include Dominique’s expertise in shaping and crafting this portrait of time. He’s a true creative in that he loves opportunities to step outside his comfort zone and discover something he doesn’t know yet about himself. These multi-platform collaborations are great avenues to express something beyond our own boundaries.

As a designer known for engaging the senses through your fashion creations, how does the addition of scent to this watch reflect your artistic vision?

I wanted to create a sensorial experience of time that paved the way to the emotional dimension of time, experience of time... one that’s more connected to our intuition. I felt that perfume was the perfect medium to open this door because scents have the innate and fascinating ability to blur the boundaries between imagination and reality. And using perfume is a way to invite the audience into these emotionally charged depths of time, which is very similar to the mental space I’m in when I create. This is where everything is suspended, nothing else exists, just moving shapes, volumes, and colours. I felt that perfume could nourish this project with emotion and connection.

Is there an aspect of the concept watch that you feel particularly connected to?

What I especially like about this concept watch is the simplification of its style from the traditional Egerie. This model is devoid of hour markers, which I wanted removed. It represents a departure from reality, the linear measure of time, and constraints of time, and is about embracing another state of being that is weightless and unrestricted. Getting rid of this aesthetic code was a big step for the maison. It was a very interesting negotiation process with them but we reached a common ground in the end.

I see this watch as a sensorial object that serves as a reminder to be fully in the present moment. Everyone has their own relationship with time. You can be a slave to time; it can become your worst enemy if you’re not kind to yourself, but you can also twist time around to control it and define your own way to live time. And I think that having a moon phase complication is a reminder to invest in time to protect this suspended realm in which creativity can express itself, so that you can marvel at things in the present.

Tell us more about the work on the strap.
It features traditional craftsmanship, like handcrafted embroidery that I use in haute couture. It also reflects the way I upgrade raw materials in my work. The shards of mother-of-pearl used here were discarded from the shells, from which the nacre for the dial were picked. So, the remnants of that shell I used as embroidery material were upgraded to precious objects with hand-stitching that was then coloured and painted to this lilac shade. I dream in lilac and pastels, so this colour evokes the free state of being I mentioned earlier.

What have you learnt about the world of scents?

I love any collaboration in a field where I don’t know anything about because it means I must step out of my zone of knowledge, where I control things. I think that as we grow older, we forget this innate ability to be amazed and open to new emotions and surprises. When I work with Dominique, I go into his realm and become like a kid again, discovering and playing instinctively with elements that are given to me. I have no rules or hierarchy of construction, and this helps to push boundaries.

How does Vacheron Constantin’s ethos align with yours?

I think we share the same quest for the exceptional. And beyond the quest for perfection and precision, we also share a quest for innovation, of pushing boundaries and stepping into areas where we’re not expected. I think this mindful adventurousness is also a very strong paradigm between our conception of creativity. On this point, we really found ourselves because a project like this is very bold, and only a house that shares this pioneering spirit for innovation can allow this journey to happen, so I'm grateful for the trust that the team placed on me to explore the range of expressivity not commonly found in the world of horology.