Initially made for the Japanese market, only 100 pieces of this reference were produced in white gold. This Vacheron Constantin World Time Ref. 48250/000G is an elegant and modern interpretation of the vintage World Timers of the 20s and 30s.
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Time Zone
In 1878, the Canadian engineer and inventor, Sir Sandford Fleming, proposed a system of 24 zones, separated by 15° longitude each.
This suggestion was adopted by the American Railroad companies in 1883, which in turn led to the International Prime Meridian Conference held at Washington D.C. the following year. This is where it was agreed that Fleming’s model would be adopted around the world, with Greenwich being the location for the prime meridian line.
The supposed reasoning behind this was Britain’s nautical dominance, both physically and in terms of the knowledge that had been gathered by the Greenwich Observatory, such as its maps and advanced chronological data.
Delegates to the International Meridian Conference, held in Washington, DC in 1884, which selected Greenwich, England, as cite of the Prime Meridian.
This now meant that wherever you were, your local solar time was never more than half an hour off the standard time zone you were in. This standardisation of time around the world not only eased countless issues, but also demonstrated how people at the time were thinking more globally. Business was starting to be carried out in multiple countries at the same time, with inventions such as the telephone allowing instant, long-distance communication. Suddenly, you could be everywhere at once.
