Vacheron Constantin organised an exceptional evening event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York as part of the inauguration of “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: a Legacy of Collecting”, an exhibition dedicated to the masterpieces from the Barbier-Mueller family collection and supported by Vacheron Constantin.

Vacheron Constantin organised an exceptional evening event at the Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York as part of the inauguration of “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: a Legacy of Collecting”, an exhibition dedicated to the masterpieces from the Barbier-Mueller family collection and supported by Vacheron Constantin.

On this auspicious occasion (a first in the history of the New York museum), leading watchmakers - Vacheron Constantin - hosted 250 guests for a dinner in the splendid Temple of Dendur set beneath the museum's huge glass roof looking out onto Central Park. The evening saw a world-first presentation of the 4 latest “Métiers d'Art Les Masques” creations, timepieces celebrating horological expertise and the tradition of Métiers d'art (artistic crafts) faithfully cultivated for over 250 years by the world's oldest watch Manufacture.

June 21, 2009 12:00 by Aarti Nagraj

A partner of the Barbier-Mueller museum since 2007, Vacheron Constantin held an exceptional soirée at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art, coinciding with the official inauguration of “African and Oceanic Art from the Barbier-Mueller Museum, Geneva: a Legacy of Collecting” – an exhibition dedicated to masterpieces from the family collection and supported by the Geneva-based brand.

This unique event was graced by the presence of Monique Barbier-Mueller and Juan-Carlos Torres, CEO of Vacheron Constantin, along with Marc Guten, International Director of Vacheron Constantin, Hugues de Pins, President of Vacheron Constantin North America, and Laurence Mattet, Director of the Barbier-Mueller Museum in Geneva.

250 guests – comprising customers, collectors, art connoisseurs and friends of Vacheron Constantin – were hosted in New York’s largest museum and one of the most important in the world in terms of both its size and the quality of its collections.

During this evening, guests enjoyed a preview of the Barbier-Mueller Museum exhibition (on show in the MET through September 27th 2009). After that, inside the spectacular Temple of Dendur Room beneath the huge glass roof looking out onto Central Park, they were able to admire an exhibition of exceptional historical watches from the Vacheron Constantin heritage, as well as the two first boxed sets of “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” timepieces on show alongside the original masks of the Barbier-Mueller Museum. This display was further enhanced by a demonstration of artistic watchmaking crafts, and in particular those of Master Engraver and Master Watchmaker.

The highlight of the dinner was a dance performance by artists from the famous Juilliard School (featuring a sound and light choreography evoking the four continents from which the “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” creations). This was followed by the world-first presentation of the third and last set of four “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” timepieces – a collection celebrating the horological expertise and the tradition of artistic watchmaking crafts cherished by the watch brand.

This eventful evening set the crowning touch to the “Métiers d’Art Les Masques” collection, paying tribute to the Barbier-Mueller family, as well as to human intelligence and dexterity, while once again testifying to Vacheron Constantin’s deep-felt attachment to art and culture, travel and discovery.