Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin, founded in Geneva in 1755, is the oldest watchmaker in continuous production and holds 513 watches in this library. Eighty-six per cent are gold or platinum, 83 per cent have a display back and 34 per cent are limited editions.
Collections
Quai de l’Ile
Patrimony
The Patrimony is Vacheron Constantin's plainest watch: a round case with a slim bezel, a pearl minute track and baton indexes.
FiftySix
Harmony
Malte
Égérie
Heures Créatives
Métiers d'Art
Métiers d'Art is Vacheron Constantin's collection for the artistic crafts of enamelling, engraving, guilloché and gem-setting.
Traditionnelle
The Traditionnelle is Vacheron Constantin's classical line, drawn from the codes of Geneva watchmaking.
Overseas
The Overseas is Vacheron Constantin's sports watch, introduced in 1996 as the successor to the 222 of 1977.
Les Cabinotiers
Les Cabinotiers is Vacheron Constantin's bespoke department for unique pieces and special orders.
Historiques
Historiques is Vacheron Constantin's line of reissues. Each reproduces a watch from the maison's archive with its original proportions and a modern…
About Vacheron Constantin
Jean-Marc Vacheron took his first apprentice in 1755; François Constantin joined in 1819 and gave the firm its name and its motto, to do better if possible, which is always possible. The Maltese cross on the crown, taken from a barrel component, dates from 1880, and the movements carry the Hallmark of Geneva, the canton's own standard since 1886. The house has made complications throughout: the reference 57260 of 2015, a pocket watch with 57 of them, remains the most complicated watch ever made.
The catalogue is unusual in that its largest collection is a decorative one. Métiers d'Art, 122 watches, is the enamelling, engraving and guilloché line, and Les Cabinotiers, the bespoke department, adds 27 one-off and special-order pieces. The classical lines follow: the Traditionnelle of 2007 at 107, the Patrimony of 2004 at 68, the Historiques reissues at 24, the tonneau Malte, the Harmony chronographs and the ladies' Égérie. The Overseas of 1996, the integrated-bracelet sports watch descended from the 222 of 1977, is 101 watches and most of the brand's steel.
The movements are its own since the 2000s. The 2460 automatic and its four-aperture 2460 G4 version lead the caliber list; the hand-wound 1400 and 4400 power the Patrimony and Traditionnelle; the 5100 and 5200 of 2016 are the Overseas three-hander and chronograph; and the 2160 is a tourbillon wound by a peripheral rotor. The ultra-thin 1120, built on Jaeger-LeCoultre's 920, is still here on 12 watches. Sixty-three per cent of the catalogue is automatic and 35 per cent hand-wound.
Complications lean toward the tourbillon, 9 per cent of the watches, then chronographs at 8 per cent and perpetual calendars at 7. The median case is 40 mm and 10.4 mm thick; water resistance is a dress rating, a median of 30 m, the Overseas at 150 m the exception. The rarity median of 6 is the highest of any brand here, and 29 per cent of the scored watches sit at 8 or above.