The color gray needs more respect in the world of watches. People like to use terms like “silver, metal, steel, titanium, etc…” when describing colors, when what they are really talking about is a form of gray. Gray is also a very fashionably diverse hue, as it goes with just about everything. So for 2013, Swiss Vacheron Constantin decided to do a little homage to gray with a solid platinum version of the Patrimony Traditionelle Small Seconds watch.

Vacheron Constantin’s Patrimony collection is what most people picture when they think of the brand’s products. Simple yet sophisticated, these aren’t just dress watches, but rather dress watches with just the right amount of masculinity in them. Vacheron Constantin accomplishes this by adding little details on the dial such as a lot of sharp angles, and an instrumental looking minute track. They may all look like small details, but taken together the design elements of the collection really do say “patrimony.”

Patrimony as a term means something that is inherited through one’s father – a fitting title for something in the high-end watch industry that is so concerned with tradition.  As a modern watch, Patrimony models nevertheless take a lot of inspiration from the past, something that Vacheron Constantin clearly relies upon as a selling point.

This specific model is the Patrimony Traditionnelle Small Seconds ref. 82172/000P-9811, and named as such for obvious reasons given the dial. The dial has a subsidiary seconds dial (sometimes called “small seconds”) and in this case, the case is in solid 950 platinum with a lovely matte gray dial. Few brands do dauphine hands as well as Vacheron Constantin. These are beautifully shaped, wonderfully cut, and the perfect size. What is the trick to them looking so nice? Well, note how they are polished.