Brad Pitt Teased This Watch In 2023. It's Finally Here
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No one really seems to know quite why it took them so long. Only that it did.
“It was long overdue,” Alexandre Ghotbi, deputy chairman of watches at Phillips auction house, and the former editor of an online forum dedicated to Vacheron Constantin, told Esquire’s The Big Watch Book in 2022. “Collectors wanted a new 222 for many years.”
Like movie buffs and fans of classic rock, the 1970s is a decade that holds a special place in the hearts of horologists.
That was when “luxury sports watches”, timepieces like Patek Philippe’s Nautilus and Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak, models with geometric designs, industrial aesthetics and eyewatering prices, were launched.
Watches that have come to define those brands and remain highly collectable to this day.
Vacheron Constantin launched its own “luxury sports watch” in 1977.
Known as the 222, it was released to mark the 222nd anniversary of the venerable Swiss watchmaker. It was discontinued eight years later, having sold fewer than 3,000 units. Despite the ongoing success of its 1970s cousins, a healthy amount of mythologising on collectors’ forums and sky-high second-hand prices, Vacheron Constantin remained impervious to the idea of reissuing their 222.
That changed, appropriately, in 2022.
“The idea of a revival of the 222 had been spoken about for quite some time,” Christian Selmoni, the brand’s style and heritage director tells me. “As it is now regarded as one of the founding members of the ‘sporty chic’ luxury watches, we decided to celebrate this inspirational model in 2022 – 45 years after its launch – for this reason. And coincidentally it became a ‘play with numbers’ opportunity.”
The release of the Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222, a blinged-up version of the original in an 18ct yellow-gold case with a gold-tone dial, it honoured its predecessor's 37mm size, fluted bezel, straight hour-markers and baton-type hands, and was met with a breathless response.
Headlines including ‘The Best Thing Since Sliced Bread’, ‘How The 222 Became A Watch Cult Classic’ and ‘Brad Pitt Is a Proud Owner of one of 2022’s Best New Watches’ – after the actor snapped one up.
In Esquire it became the subject of its own standalone 2,000-word feature.
Brad Pitt proved such a fan that he was spotted at the 2023 Wimbledon final – the one where Carlos Alcaraz ended Novak Djokovic’s ten-year reign – wearing another version of the 222.
This one was a proper vintage model in sporty steel, though – leading watch-spotters to speculate a re-edition that hoved more closely to the original would be the next logical move for Vacheron Constaintin to make. (Instead, it went with this Overseas chronograph.)
This year marks another anniversary for the brand – 270 years. So now it has taken the opportunity to reissue the reissue.
The latest version of the 222 comes in stainless steel, with a blue dial – a combination that harks back to the 1970s original, and Pitt's Centre Court flex.
“The distinctive character of the 222 has made it one of Vacheron Constantin’s most recognisable models over the last few decades and it seemed like the next logical step was to introduce a steel version with a blue,” says Selmoni. “It echoes the watch from 1977 and is considered, too, as the most attractive one.”
Will the new blue 222 be a hit?
You can count on it.
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