The 222 occupies a foundational position in Vacheron Constantin's history — launched in 1977 for the 222nd anniversary of the maison's 1755 founding, designed by twenty-four-year-old Jörg Hysek to compete in the emerging luxury steel sports watch category alongside the Royal Oak and Nautilus. The 222 stands as one of the "Holy Three" watches that elevated steel sports watches to icon status, distinguished by its fluted bezel, clean untextured dial, and signature Maltese cross logo positioned at five o'clock on the case rather than the dial. The 222 was discontinued in 1985, and Vacheron Constantin's 2022 revival within the Historiques collection has driven renewed collector interest in original examples — particularly rare precious-metal variants like white gold, which was produced in negligible quantities.

Measuring a petite 24.4mm in 18-karat white gold, the case features the signature stylized fluted bezel factory-set with brilliant-cut diamonds, alongside the Maltese cross logo at five o'clock and integrated white gold multi-link bracelet flowing seamlessly from case to clasp. The clean dial carries applied hour markers and matching hands beneath a sapphire crystal, framed by the diamond-set bezel that transforms the sport-luxury 222 architecture into a genuine jewelry statement. A precision quartz movement drives the timekeeping, completing one of the rarest material expressions of the model that helped define the luxury sports watch category.