Conceived in 1994 to honor the 400th anniversary of Gerardus Mercator's passing, the Mercator collection released by Vacheron Constantin revolutionized watchmaking with its dual retrograde display—an audacious technical statement that remains impressive decades later.

Encased in platinum, this particular example features a polychrome champlevé enamel dial depicting Germany and neighboring regions, one of only 10 pieces ever created and this is the 4th one to appear publicly. The intricate process begins with carving geographical details into an 18k gold base, followed by more than thirty kiln firings at temperatures reaching 900°C (1650°F). Master enamellers painstakingly apply colors with marten-hair brushes, layering green, yellow, and purple vitreous enamel, with each layer requiring individual firing and polishing. The twelve-day creation process yields only two dials monthly, with many lost to the medium's brittleness during gradual cooling.

The mechanical artistry matches the dial's splendor. Vacheron Constantin's ultra-thin Caliber 1120, measuring just 2.45mm in thickness, was radically modified to power twin retrograde hands shaped like compass needles. These hands sweep across arched scales before snapping back instantaneously—the hours completing their journey every twelve hours and the minutes every sixty. The complexity of the complication is heightened by its off-center placement, requiring the hands to operate on a different axis than the crown.

Presented with its original accessories, this Mercator represents a pivotal moment when Vacheron Constantin merged Renaissance cartography with micromechanical innovation.