GLOSSED IN ANTIQUITY

What do the adventures of Vasco da Gama, the Chinese year of the dog, and a paper-and-silk hot air balloon that glided over Paris in 1783 have in common? They — and their topical kith and kin — have all been depicted as part of Vacheron Constantin’s Métiers d’Art programme, which invites watch lovers to journey through time via the almost unfathomable creative brio of its master artisans.

Now, as part of a partnership with the Louvre instigated in 2019, and inspired by the artefacts contained within that institution’s hallowed