Overseas

The Overseas is Vacheron Constantin's sports-watch family: metal cases, fitted bracelets and movements protected for more active use than a thin dress watch. It began in 1996, following the house's earlier experiment with the integrated-bracelet 222 of 1977.

The first Overseas had a shaped case and a strongly marked bezel. A second generation arrived in 2004, making the design larger and giving the bracelet links a more conspicuous connection to the company's Maltese-cross emblem.

The third generation, introduced in 2016, changed both the movements and the way the watch attached to the wrist. A release system allowed the bracelet to be removed without tools and replaced by fitted rubber or leather straps. The case no longer needed to remain part of one continuous steel band.

The time-and-date 4500V used the automatic caliber 5100. Chronographs and watches with additional time-zone displays belonged to other branches, with more information on their faces. The family resemblance came from the case and bezel as much as from a single dial.

The later 4520V revised the proportions again. What distinguishes the 2016 generation is not simply its blue dial or metal bracelet, but the deliberate provision for changing that bracelet. Steel, rubber and leather were designed as alternative completions of the same case.