Grail Watches: The Holy Trinity – Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin – And What is a ‘Grail Watch’ Anyway?

Credits: Article and images by Colin Alexander Smith @ Quill & Pad. See the original article here - https://quillandpad.com/2024/10/19/grail-watches-the-holy-trinity-patek-philippe-audemars-piguet-and-vacheron-constantin-and-what-is-a-grail-watch-anyway/

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Jaquet Droz presenta el Tourbillon Skelet Red Gold Dragon Mask

Perrelet presenta una nueva colaboración con seconde/seconde que reinterpreta el Turbine

The Holy Trinity

Back to Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron Constantin: so what is the Holy Trinity for the non-watch obsessed?

The Trinity is a core concept in Christian dogma and yet, surprisingly, the Christian Bible does not mention a “trinity” as such. It is a doctrinal term coined by the early church to explain that God is “one God, but three coeternal and consubstantial persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.”

The Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Jumbo Extra-Thin is most certainly someone’s ‘grail’ watch

This term is potentially problematic for our many Muslim brothers and sisters in the watch community, as shirk, the association of partners with God, is deemed to be one of the gravest sins in Islam. Are they bothered as they agonize over whether to wear Audemars Piguet’s Royal Oak or Royal Oak Offshore today?

Probably not.

What does matter is that although PP, AP, and VC are in theory described as constituting the Trinity in no particular order, I suspect that just as with the Christian Trinity, there is a watchmaking pecking order, with Patek Philippe being God, Audemars Piguet the hipper, more accessible Son, and Vacheron Constantin the less high-profile (i.e., invisible) Holy Spirit. This is borne out by the photo below, with PP in the middle, AP “seated at the right hand of the Father,” and VC to PP’s left.

If you have a different interpretation, do leave a comment below.

Are any of these your grail watch?

For watch collectors, the general consensus is that membership of the Trinity is based on the three watchmakers’ cumulative technical prowess and uninterrupted existence (with Vacheron Constantin being the oldest). Some commentators have attempted to introduce other watchmakers such as A. Lange & Söhne or F.P Journe to the triumvirate, but none of these pretenders can claim the requisite combination of historical background, technical excellence, and production volumes.

In conclusion, I think it is time to give the watch collecting community’s vocabulary an overhaul to reflect its true global, multicultural, and – let it be said – multi-faith nature. I therefore respectfully suggest that we introduce the following, more inclusive concepts and terms:

Watch Nirvana: when you are finally released from the eternal cycle of watch upgrades (see “grail watch” above).

Mecca of watchmaking: the country formerly known as “Switzerland.”

Watch Karma: when you find yourself buying back a watch you owned previously but sold. Over and over again . . .

Muggles (not a religious term, but almost): people who don’t wear a watch.

Other suggestions are welcome in the comments below. And let us know your grail watch!