Everyone loves a little nostalgia, right? When it comes to watches, you’ll have plenty of it, with referential drops of bygone eras always hoping for a comeback. Typically – at least for this year – a renaissance of all things ‘70s has been at the forefront. But for Swiss watchmaker Vacheron Constantin, it’s time we ought to take it back even further. So put your bell bottoms and ridiculously oversized sunnies away: it’s all about 1956.

Marking the return of the Fiftysix collection (lest you forget your dates), previously launched in 2018, Vacheron Constantin makes a pitch for blending retro-contemporary combinations. But pause a beat. What was so special about 1956, other than the year transatlantic telephone calls began? In all things watch world – a happy utopia I promise you – the stalwarts in fine watchmaking created a watch that sits in the horological hall of fame: the 6073, one of the Maison’s very first self-winding watches. Paired with the strength of aesthetic codes during this decade, it’s time to turn back the hands of time and hurl another heritage classic right into the present day.

So what does the ‘50s look like in 2024? Pink gold, says Vacheron Constantin, pitching a bold but comfortable 40mm model. Paying homage to an era of simplicity, but one of complexity too, a black dial takes centre stage for the first time in the collection, with an opaline centre which ripples into a sunburst technique (it does what it says on the tin) surrounding what we watch folk call the chapter ring.

The real cherry on top of a good watch-shaped cake is the case back. There’s nothing more satisfying than turning over a watch to view an open peep hole to see just how this ticking thing actually, well, ticks. Lingo lesson for you: call it the sapphire crystal caseback for extra aura points. Peep inside the watch and you’ll see a pink gold oscillating weight (the spinny thing) adorned with the iconography of Vacheron Constantin: a Maltese cross that pays tribute to nearly 270 years of fashioning wrists.

Posing vintage proportions, clean-cut lines and refined finishing, this novel Vacheron Constantin might be equipped to help you navigate the passage of time, but taking strong cues from an era of understated elegance in a post-war existence, its efforts are timeless.

Discover more at VacheronConstantin.com.