Back in April, during the virtual Watches & Wonders exhibition, Vacheron Constantin ushered in 2020 with an array of complications, including a version of its Overseas Ultra-Thin Perpetual Calendar in a rose-gold case and a blue lacquered dial. Now the venerable maison applies the same gold-and-blue combo to the collection’s flagship three-hand-date model, the Overseas Self-Winding, which headlines Vacheron’s offerings at this week’s Watches & Wonders in-person sequel in Shanghai.

Following the elegant codes of the Overseas collection, which was substantially revamped in 2016, the new Self-Winding model is recognizable for its hexagonal bezel whose shape evokes that of the Maltese cross that serves as Vacheron Constantin’s historical emblem. The links of its integrated bracelet, in all rose-gold for the first time on this model, also draw their visual inspiration from the Maltese cross. Also in keeping with the modern identity of the Overseas, the bracelet can be easily interchanged with a blue alligator leather or blue textured rubber strap.
The dial’s intense blue colors provide a wealth of visual effects, from the sunburst satin-finished center to the circular satin-finished flange to the velvet-finished minute circle. The hands and hour markers, also in gold, are coated in Super-LumiNova, and the date appears in a window at 3 o’clock. The 41-mm case has a screw-down crown, helping to ensure a water resistance of...