The Vacheron Constantin 222 opens the 270th anniversary’s celebration

Introduction

2025 is a record-setting year: three prestigious watch brands celebrate their anniversaries, and they are no other than Vacheron Constantin, Breguet and Audemars Piguet. The first of the list and longest-established has officially opened its celebrations.

After 270 years in the making, it won’t kick things off with an ultra-complicated timepiece like it did with the reference 57260 in 2015. Vacheron Constantin’s opener is an exquisite two-hander whose waiting list has grown since the brand revealed its yellow gold variant: the 222 in steel.

The Vacheron Constantin 222

First unveiled in 1977, it marked the Geneva-based manufacturer’s first 222 years: back then, it was a remarkable achievement for a brand currently running for its 300^th. Among the brands belonging to the “Holy Trinity”, which includes Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet, the 222 was the last in the pipeline to hit the market.

As with its notable siblings, the 222 was Vacheron Constantin’s take on the then-growing luxury steel sports watch in steel. Closer to a Royal Oak than a 3700 for the extensive satin finish throughout the case, bracelet and bezel, the Vacheron Constantin 222 stood out for a significantly reduced production volume.

The 2025 Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 in steel

The new collection, whose debut dates back to 2022, now belongs to the Historiques collection. That exercise, whose pieces rolled out from the workshop are much less than an Overseas, suggests that Vacheron Constantin was waiting for the right moment to drop the steel option.

Surf the web and social media, and you’ll see how successful and long-awaited this release has been. The designers have faithfully built on the timepiece once designed by the then-twenty-three-year-old Jorg Hysek, whose designs include the Breguet Marine and the Seiko Arctura.

Therefore, the development team has stuck to the original as it has never done before compared to what Audemars Piguet and Patek Philippe did with Nautilus and Royal Oak over the years, respectively. As an outcome, here is a timepiece seamlessly connecting old and new, building on the 222’s vintage pedigree.

Measuring 37 mm across, crown excluded, it is 7.95 mm thick, almost a millimetre thicker than its original counterpart. We believe that the designers tried to empower the case-to-bracelet proportions further and enhance the integration between the case and bracelet in the attachment area.

Up close on the dial, you’ll notice the date window has moved out of the minute track, whose markings stand out, as does the matte midnight blue palette.

Regarding the technical specifications, the self-winding 2455/2 movement runs at 4Hertz compared to 2.75 Hertz and houses a case whose 50-meter water resistance is unexpected. That said, a Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 is the only luxury sports watch in steel to comply with the Hallmark of Geneva‘s requirements.

Final thoughts

We have not seen the new 222 in person, nor have we interviewed anybody from the design team to ask what we think is the only topic of conversation: the waterproof performance of a watch whose forerunner withstood 120 meters instead. Might that be a deal breaker? It won’t. That specification did not rank among Vacheron Constantin’s top priorities.

Historiques 222’s product mission is to elevate the luxury experience, brand heritage and exclusivity to new heights instead of approaching performances belonging to Overseas territory. A Vacheron Constantin Historiques 222 is available exclusively at the brand’s boutiques and retails for €35,600.

(Photo credit: Vacheron Constantin)

Giovanni Maria Di Biase @Horbiter®