Vacheron Constantin: The Top 5 of the Concours d’Élégance

There is no shortage of vitality at Vacheron Constantin. Following the “One of Not Many Crafts” program, designed to support watchmaking craftsmanship, and its Hour Club community, and perhaps one day a certified pre-owned watch sales program (CPO), here comes the Concours d’Élégance.

A First Trial Edition

The initiative comes not from the brand itself, but from auction house Phillips, in collaboration with its Bacs & Russo watch department. Vacheron Constantin was the first to seize the opportunity to take part in such a competition, and for good reason: the Head of EMEA at Phillips Watches is none other than Alex Ghotbi, the brand’s former Head of Social Media, making him a natural link between the two players.

The idea of a Concours d’Élégance is nothing new. A. Lange & Söhne is familiar with the format (Villa d’Este, among others), as is Richard Mille (Chantilly). However, these events are dedicated to automobiles, with watch brands acting solely as sponsors. Phillips therefore set out to create a Concours d’Élégance devoted exclusively to watches. The format does not pit timepieces from different brands against one another. For this first edition, it is reserved for a single manufacture, in this case Vacheron Constantin. Phillips, as the organizer of the format, remains open to further editions, potentially involving other brands. Nothing has yet been decided.

The categories are fairly traditional: Chronographs, Métiers d’Art, Astronomical Complications, Design and Striking Mechanisms. Others are more unusual, such as the very broad Multiple Complications category and the distinctive Chronomètre Royal, a proprietary Vacheron Constantin collection.

A High-Level Competition

To gather entries, the organizers pooled their address books and collected a total of 550 contenders. Every watch was examined by Vacheron Constantin’s watchmakers and experts from its Heritage Department. This first stage made it possible to verify the authenticity, eligibility, documentation or certificate of each piece, as well as its suitability for the proposed category. The jury members were then given access to an initial selection of 95 watches, chosen according to predefined criteria such as the watch’s history, its rarity and its impact on the watch industry in general and on Vacheron Constantin in particular. The judges awarded points to their favorite pieces in each category. The results produced 34 finalists: five watches for each of the seven categories, representing just over 6% of all submissions.

A watch that clearly established the manufacture’s key design codes as early as 1947. The exceptionally clean dial ensures excellent legibility despite its period diameter of just 35 mm. Its generously sized, off-center subdials preserve a central area entirely devoted to the hour markers. The understated hands are equally striking: gold for the hours and minutes, blued steel for the chronograph indications. The watch also features the distinctive lugs typical of the decade, a historical signature of the Maison that would later evolve into the iconic “Cornes de vache” (cow-horn) lugs so closely associated with Vacheron Constantin.

Geographical dials are a Vacheron Constantin specialty. Planispheres, world maps, continents, and oceans form an aesthetic vocabulary that has consistently been brought to life through exceptional artistic crafts, with a particular emphasis on enamel, especially cloisonné. The dial of Ref. 4724, probably made by Stern Frères, is remarkable in its execution. This 1951 example also stands out for its original bracelet, which remains intact, featuring broad rice-grain links, at a time when many period bracelets have either deteriorated or been replaced.

A forgotten case geometry, with beveled and rounded edges, housing a gently elliptical dial. This is a genuine certified chronometer that makes no attempt to show it. Very little would need to change today for this overlooked creation to make a successful comeback.

The 1980s remain a somewhat overlooked decade, largely because of the abundance of quartz models whose aesthetics may seem questionable to us today. But this overlooks the role Vacheron Constantin played as a guardian of traditional watchmaking. Its unusual hexadecagonal (16-sided) case houses caliber 1120, based on a movement dating back to 1966. An ultra-thin benchmark movement, it remained in production for decades and beats at the uncommon frequency of 2.75 Hz (19,800 vibrations per hour). A rarity!

How could anyone resist? Featuring a minute repeater and a split-seconds chronograph, a rare combination, this pocket watch still displays a delightfully 19th-century design at the dawn of the 20th century.