It’s All About Good Taste: Fiftysix Shades Of Blue With Alessandro Buffolino

The family is getting bigger, so to speak, as Fiftysix introduces two new models. Established in 2018, the collection was inspired by style codes going back to 1956, and was launched at the Abbey Road Studios at the rhythm of Benjamin Clementine’s music, one of the talents representing Fiftysix in Vacheron Constantin’s new communication campaign.

Watch Insanity’s trip into the manufacture world continues and, following the path we took last year, we let emblematic people with a strong personality reinterpret, in their own way, Vacheron Constantin’s models.

Chef Alessandro Buffolino welcomed us in the kitchen of his restaurant, Acanto, located inside the Principe di Savoia hotel in Milan – a landmark of the city which embodies history, luxury, elegance and tradition. All keywords that can be applied to the model on the chef’s wrist: the Fiftysix Complete Calendar.

An expression of nonchalant elegance, the new petrol blue color embellishes men’s wardrobes, so does the dial of the watch. With an automatic movement, it displays the date, day and month, and the moon phases – counting on 122 years of absolute precision.

“Even here at Acanto, the indispensable element to create dishes that aim at excellence is precision,” confirms Alessandro. “Cooking is like physics, it’s impossible to leave space for improvisation and approximation. To create high-profile dishes, innovative and highly technical, it is the main characteristic on which everything is based.”

Fiftysix Complete Calendar’s caliber 2460 is characterised by a device enabling to stop the seconds. Easy to read, the dial is punctuated by Arabic numerals around the hour ring (rarity among Vacheron Constantin’s models!) and is decorated with an opaline, metallic sunray finish in concentric grooves starting at the center and expanding towards the side. The iconic Maltese cross is elegantly displayed on the integrated crown and the dial, as well as on the oscillating weight made of 22-karat pink gold and the lines of the lugs.

Elegant features, connecting the history of the Maison and the contemporary style so dear to collectors and passionate young people who this new model was designed for. Past and future meet, just like in the courses on Acanto’s menu.

“I have been working at the Principe di Savoia for 4 years now. I would never have imagined to come to Milan to express my cuisine, but thanks to this place I found the right alliance to do so. There isn’t a better city to observe how history and modernity can be harmonically combined. Having the honour to express my creativity inside one of Milan’s landmarks is very stimulating for me. Initially it was a hard challenge, because my work had to respect the place’s history, even if I wanted to introduce innovation in Acanto’s kitchen and dishes.”

Among the novelties introduced in the last years, the famous Tavolo Cristallo: a quiet corner of the restaurant, a concept revolving around the chef and his creativity. It is a unique experience, tailored for every single client. Everything is personalised, studied and measured based on the occasion, taste and preferences of the guests around the table.

For us, Alessandro created an ad-hoc menu (just as he does for those who book the Tavolo Cristallo), inspired by the Fiftysix collection and highlighting two fundamental characteristics of the Complete Calendar: technique and innovation.

“My cooking style is inextricably related to those two fundamental aspects. I always start from classicism, from Italian tradition, and I transform it to create a modern dish. How? Through technique. We use technology in the kitchen a lot, which allows us to make historic dishes lighter, while preserving and rediscovering the innate iconic attributes of the course.”

By Valentina Dalla Costa