Vacheron Constantin ladies collections, Egerie and 1972 Cambree add an important stroke to the watchmaker's image. These models expose Vacheron Constantin's feminine side – what the company looked like if it were established by the Amazons. This example is not incidental: Egerie and 1972 Cambree timepieces, despite being overtly feminine, evince a strong undercurrent of power, a trait more often associated with the male domain. Indeed, this power element runs through the entire Vacheron Constantin oeuvre; the watchmaker tends towards energetic, highly confident designs.

Both collections produce a sense of round, complete femininity via a blend of fluent style and geometrical robustness. As men benefit from turning more to his feminine characteristics, so do women – and Egerie and 1972 Cambree represent this gender exchange. And it's important to make a reservation: delicacy and softness, as intrinsic feminine characteristics, are in no way compromised. On the contrary, they are supported and accentuated by that design streak of power all Vacheron Constantin watches possess. Egerie and 1972 abandon all complications (both exclude even a seconds hand) in favor of design poised between haute jewelry and industrial, Art Deco currents, sometimes careening towards either.

The 1972 Cambree is Vacheron Constantin's venture into asymmetry – arguably one of the company's most bold design maneuvers. Asymmetry is inherently chaotic, and even when it's been restrained by a solid watch case, it still retains signs of irrationality and potential explosiveness. These are qualities that may seem to undermine precision, the main principle that drives Vacheron Constantin. There is unbridled energy in this Vacheron Constantin collection, an unspent freshness that invigorates and tickles. Since the first line was introduced in 1972, Cambree has gone through several transformations and renovations. Most models include hours and minutes hands pointing to oversized and appropriately asymmetrical roman numerals, and the basic uneven trapeze shape remains the hallmark of the collection. Vacheron Constantin introduced such elements as diamonds and colors in the later models.

Egerie is the softer collection of the two. Eschewing the angles and asymmetry of the 1972 Cambree, Egerie goes for flowing lines and wavy curves, balanced by two strong horizontal parallels of the tonneau case. Befitting a watch that puts extra stress on elegance, the bracelet in some models – in a rare occasion for Vacheron Constantin – becomes a component inseparable from the overall design. Egerie features Arabic numerals and several shapes of hands, straight or wavy; most models include diamonds, encrusted either in dial indices or the bezel, or even paving the entire watch.

I think that Vacheron Constantin feminine collections are an untapped territory that still holds many design opportunities. Even the enthusiasm and exuberance of Egerie and 1972 Cambree ladies timepieces are yet to fully unwind.