Vacheron Constantin Quai de l’Ile watches

The Vacheron Constantin Quai de l’Ile is named after the historic site in the heart of Geneva where the brand made its name. The collection appeared in 2008 as a modular line: buyers could combine cases, dials and finishes, and its parts were designed to be hard for counterfeiters to copy.

The case is what sets it apart. A round bezel sits on a body the brand describes as part cushion and part tonneau, with curved flanks, long lugs and a barrel-shaped case band, and the surfaces alternate between polished and satin-brushed. In 2016 Vacheron updated the line with a 41 mm stainless steel version and a new in-house movement: the 4500S, the first Quai de l’Ile in steel. It does without the customisation options of the original.

The steel Self-Winding 4500S is 11.75 mm thick and water resistant to 30 m. Inside is Calibre 5100: 172 parts, 4 Hz, about 60 hours of power reserve and the Geneva Seal, with a tungsten winding rotor on view through the sapphire caseback. There is no date window: a pointer on a ring turns around a fixed disc printed with the date numerals. The silver 4500S/000A-B195 and black 4500S/000A-B196 share everything but the dial, and the 4500S/000A-B364 is the same watch with a blue dial.

In pink gold, the Self-Winding 86050/000R-I0P29 keeps the 41 mm size, the 11.75 mm thickness and a silver dial. The Day-Date 85050/000R-I0P29 is also 41 mm pink gold with a silver dial, and at 13.02 mm it is the thicker of the two.