One of the first Christophe Claret Aventicum was bought by a Canadian
Christophe Claret Aventicum
When Christophe Claret unveils a new model, it won’t pass unnoticed by the collectors of complicated watches. One of his latest models, the Aventicum, unveiled earlier this year, is dedicated to the ancient capital of Roman Helvetia, a more than 2,000 years old town that today is called Avenches, in the canton of Vaud.
It was here that on April 19, 1939, during the cleaning of an old pipe a 1,5 kg gold pure gold bust of Emperor Marcus Aurelius was discovered. It was a common procedure to have effigies of the Emperor in the major cities of the Empire, this way the Emperor could be present everywhere.
The Christophe Claret Aventicum features a miniature replica of this bust. Placed at the center of the dial, the only 3 mm high, tiny micro-engraved gold sculpture is magnified using an optical system known as the mirascope: two parabolic mirrors are positioned one above the other; the topmost mirror has a hole in its centre. The object to be viewed is placed on the bottom mirror, reflected by light rays, and magnified to twice its size. This way, the bust appears to be projecting out of the dial, almost like a hologram.
Months of research and several prototypes were integral to obtaining the desired optical effect. Hour and minute hands had to be reconfigured, as the mirascope was now the centrepiece of the watch. The hands became pointers around the dial, in the shape of cups, made up of carbon microfiber, an extremely light material, to compensate for the relatively large size of the display mechanism.
Christophe Claret Aventicum
The back of the Aventicum is just as fascinating as its dial. The automatic calibre is equipped with the Christophe Claret patented sapphire winding rotor. The transparent rotor is decorated with five numbered Roman Gaul racing chariots, competing to power this exceptional timepiece.
There are two versions of the Aventicum: rose gold or white gold with grade 5 grey anthracite PVD titanium, respectively limited to 68 and 38 models.
Christophe Claret Aventicum in white gold and titanium.
A Canadian client
One of the first models of the Christophe Claret Aventicum was will be delivered to a Canadian customer at the end May. It is a great reminder that yes, there are Canadians who are blessed with the knowledge, good taste and means to own a haute horlogerie timepiece.
Update
We were informed that the sale to the Canadian customer has been delayed but it is still in process.
