Hands-On: Putting The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date Through Its Paces In Iceland
For a while now, it has seemed like I was the last person in New York who hadn’t gone to Iceland. Part of me resisted any urge because, well, why do what everyone else has done? I’d rather go to Norway, where my family is from, or Patagonia, with the dramatic mountain landscapes. But part of not visiting Iceland was kind of like resisting watching everyone’s favorite TV show. Iceland has been so hyped up that it couldn’t meet expectations, could it?
The Kvernufoss waterfall in Iceland, not far from one of the most famous waterfalls in the country but worlds away as a more quiet and secluded experience.
We run into this a lot with watches. The hype train barrels through town and everyone who can gets on board. Everyone else has to suffer with feeling left out. Sometimes it’s financial reasons – not everyone can afford the hot watch at the moment – and sometimes, it’s just because you were too late. Regardless, there’s this tendency to go through something like the stages of grief of watch collecting – denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But an inability to take the long view is one of our own greatest enemies when it comes to watch collecting. As hype fades (and prices inevitably die down and watches start becoming more available from retailers, which, trust me, they will), we’re left with the things that made things great in the first place.
Basically, every blue dial Vacheron Constantin Overseas has been at least a little hard to get for a while now. Like with the icons from Patek and AP, the Overseas has suffered from its own success as a luxury integrated bracelet steel sportswatch with it’s own little tweaks to make it stand out. Vacheron’s press team assures me that they don’t “bundle” watches and that spending more money won’t get you a blue Overseas any faster. But it’s certainly one of those watches that you could grapple with convincing yourself is overhyped if you can’t get one.
The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date.
But curiously, it’s one of the lines of luxury sports watches that also feels like it actually “does the thing,” for lack of a better phrase. The main line Royal Oak isn’t a watch I’d want to wear climbing a mountain just because of how poorly the dings and scratches would wear on the case. The Nautilus is beautiful and elegant, far too much so actually to be intensely sporty. The time-only version of the Overseas is a hefty proposition at $25,000, but at least it comes with 150m of water resistance (more than both competitors). The package is comfortable, thin, and wearable, with a comfortable bracelet that can be quickly changed to a leather or rubber strap. And the sunburst blue dial is still fantastic – that’s why people wanted one in the first place, after all.
So there I was, in Iceland, with the new Vacheron Constantin Overseas Moon Phase Retrograde Date on my wrist. With only 50 meters of water resistance, it’s not the most rugged watch of the Overseas line. In fact, back in March, I called it Vacheron’s “signature complication,” and certainly not one particularly useful for sporty endeavors. It’s also significantly more expensive – $43,800. But for what I was trying to do, that was perfect. More than anything, my general question was to figure out how far toward “luxury” a “sports watch” can go before the two ideas clash.
The author, chasing waterfalls.
This won’t be the most traditional hands-on. In fact, if you want to know more about the specifications (other than the 41mm by 10.48mm stainless steel case, 40-hour power reserve, or the fact that the moonphase is accurate to 122 years), hop over to our introduction story. Instead, think of this as a visual palette cleanser as I (gently) attempt to answer the question of how luxury a sports watch can get. But first, let me set the stage for why I was in Iceland.
Last week Vacheron announced a new friend of the brand, the artist Zaria Forman. Most of the time, the folks associated with brands are famous celebrities, and their availability to be at events is limited to a few hours a couple of times a year. But Forman was set to be in Iceland, away from her daughter and husband, for a week to better help us understand the climate-conscious artwork she makes that brought her to the attention of Vacheron. Her large-scale pastel landscapes and blown-up detailed art of melting ice aren’t “photo-realistic” – they’re REAL realistic, making you feel like you’re watching climate change happen. But to bring them even more to life, we set out on a journey across Iceland to see the landscape she found inspiration from for her most recent body of work. We started in Reykjavík at Harpa, a conference and event space near the water, to see Zaria’s work and prepare for the journey ahead.
A view from the Harpa Conference hall and convention center where a preview of Zaria Forman’s art from Iceland was on display.
Zaria Forman’s art focuses on large scale pastel pieces, which for years focused on landscapes at the forefront of climate change and now incorporate detail-focused pieces on melting ice.
Pastels that Zaria uses for her work, which has remarkable depth and vibrance.
The artist and friend of the brand for Vacheron Constantin, Zaria Forman, was present.
Goodnight to Harpa and the last we’d see of an urban landscape for some time.
Our first stop was Kvernufoss waterfall. Friends had promised that it would be impossible to take a bad picture in Iceland, which only added to the pressure. But as we rounded the corner, each step provided a better angle than the last.
But theoretically I was there as much for the watches as the landscape, so I had to rush and split my time photographing this watch whenever I could.
My favorite angle is often the “short light,” where you allow the shadows to take over and shoot into the sun. But that often means going a bit further afield, putting yourself (and the watch) in a bit more precarious situations. You can see in the photo near the top that the Overseas got wet but that shouldn’t be any problem for a real sports watch and it wasn’t a problem here.
More short light.
We stopped for lunch at a river winding near Fjaðrárgljúfur. As most people settled in to eat, I couldn’t stop photographing.
A view from above the cracked and mossy landscape.
One of the most iconic things in Iceland is their horses, which have this very “early-2000s” emo look, stocky build, and specific gait. If an Icelandic horse is exported from the island, it may learn to change its gait, so it can never come back.
They’re significantly shorter than normal quarter horses and, ostensibly, I was going to ride one. At 6’7″ I felt kind of bad for the horse but they assured me it wouldn’t be worse for the wear.
The owners of the horses got a kick watching me photograph the watch and even modeled for a shot. The sweater he was wearing is known as a lopapeysa or “lopi” sweater, a traditional knit from Icelandic wool, made by hand in Iceland. Think of it like champagne – you can only call it a true lopi sweater if it’s made with Icelandic wool and hand knit in Iceland.
Each night we checked the forecast for northern lights but this was as close as we got, looking at the stars on the moonphase or the few that peeked through the clouds.
Fjaðrárgljúfur in the background.
The Icelandic horses are perfectly suited for the uneven landscape, but they also are naturally suited for tourists like me. They like to follow each other nose-to-tail and get lonely if they’re left out, so this one got to go for a ride without someone on it, just so it wasn’t left alone.
A view from the back of my horse “Concert” who let out a few deep sighs after I finally got off her back.
Black sand along the river near Fjaðrárgljúfur.
Caught in the act, Zaria Forman taking pictures along the river banks.
If the question is how “luxury” can a watch get while still being a sports watch, Zaria wore this Overseas 35mm in pink gold with diamonds all week. Its announcement coincided with her announcement as partnering with the brand and it seemed to hold up to the (relatively gentle) adventuring we did.
“There’s a reason we shoot so many car commercials in Iceland,” the event producer for the trip who was driving this Land Rover.
The next morning we drove to Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon to set out on the water and get closer to the changing landscape.
As if on cue, when our kayak guides warned us to stay far from the icebergs, one cracked and flipped over. The combination of sunshine and salt water flowing into the lagoon rapidly melts these giant floating icebergs, some as large as a townhouse and the length of a football field.
Two curious seals got close to watch us kayak. I love the curiosity of animals who seem to be able to sense when humans are doing something distinctly unusual, like floating in ice-cold water.
While most people got partners to kayak with, I was left to both shoot and paddle on my own.
A short drive away and we arrived at Diamond Beach. This is where Zaria Forman drew most of her inspiration from when it came to her new artwork. At low tide, chunks of ice wash up on the beach and dot the landscape before melting away.
Tourists also flock to the beach, which apparently is most beautiful in the early morning. I’m hoping to go back to see the sun shine off the ice with less people around.
And yet the ice is a reminder of the changing climate and the fleeting nature of the landscape. Even the beautiful waterfalls (more than 10,000 in Iceland) are a reminder of the yearly melt from the glaciers.
There are so many waterfalls that they stopped naming them.
We hiked down from the side of the unnamed fall before heading to another more famous landmark.
Skogafoss is likely the most famous waterfall in Iceland. Not far from the main ring road, it’s also often mobbed with tourists and its not uncommon for wedding parties (including tourists from Asia) to flock here for photos.
The Overseas 35mm holding up to the water.
Okay, so maybe this wasn’t the most extreme that the Overseas could take, but as I looked at the landscape and down at my watch, I wouldn’t say that even with a more elegant complication that the watch felt out of place. Sure, maybe a sub-$1,000 Seiko would feel more appropriate, but among the “Holy Trinity’s” main line of integrated steel sports watches, the Overseas seems like the strongest and most sporty of them all if you really want to put it through its paces.
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