Vacheron Constantin’s La Quête Du Temps is a clock in the same way that Gaudí’s Basílica de la Sagrada Família in Barcelona is a church. While it does indeed display the time of day, its complexity, ambition, and awe-inspiring grandeur put it in an altogether different category. Standing over a metre tall, weighing 250 kg, boasting 23 horological functions (including two musical instruments and an automated mechanical figure), and 6,293 total components, La Quête du Temps is an epic achievement by any measure.

Currently (and fittingly) on display at the Louvre in Paris, La Quête Du Temps was created in honour of the 270th anniversary of Vacheron Constantin, the world’s oldest continuously operating watch brand. Centred around a human-like “astronomer” figure that’s programmed to indicate the time with its arms, La Quête Du Temps is a combination of a clock, a calendar, and a mechanical star chart (complete with zodiac signs) that’s programmed to run accurately for centuries without requiring any adjustment.

La Quête Du Temps is a one-of-one creation, and likely not for sale, but for anyone who appreciates its gilded astronomical vibe, Vacheron Constantin is also offering the Métiers d’Art Tribute to the Quest of Time wristwatch as a 20-piece limited edition. Like the clock, the double-sided watch features a human figure on its dial whose arms move to indicate the time. Set against a backdrop of stars representing the constellations as seen from Geneva on the day of the Maison’s founding in 1755, it also includes a 3D moon phase and a sky chart on the reverse that tracks the constellations in real time. All of which sounds like a lot to fit into a wristwatch. At Vacheron Constantin, however, the quest for time—and ever-greater new timekeeping devices—continues.

Feature Image: courtesy of Vacheron Constantin.