Vacheron Constantin

And Then There Were Two...

 

I have revealed both on this and on the AHCI forum that I choose to “blow up” my Vacheron Constantin collection in order to finance the purchase of a Jean Daniel Nicolas Two-Minute Tourbillon being made by master independent watchmaker Daniel Roth. There are a few questions that naturally come to mind with such an endeavor. What did I keep? Do I miss anything?

Now that I have sold off my watches I feel that I can talk about what I did without appearing to shill. My Skeleton Perpetual:

GONE!

My platinum Mercator:


GONE!!

My Jubile 1755:


GONE!!!

Gone are my both my vintage triple date calendar watches, both with and without the moonphase.

Decimation doesn’t quite capture the extent to which I went. Annihilation is closer to the truth!!

It wasn’t actually my intention to liquidate to this extent, but I found that during this process I wasn’t actually missing any of the pieces I possessed. When the aforementioned skeleton QP and Mercator were at VC  for an extended period of time for servicing, I didn’t care. Absence did not make my heart grow fonder, and when they returned, I promptly arranged their sales.

I have kept only two of what was once a collection of 31: the first VC I ever purchased, an Overseas Chronometer with blue dial and arabic numbers and a vintage Chronometer Royal.

I tend not to wear my vintage watches but for special occasions, and I had close to 20 of them in my collection. I liked having them, but if they are not being used then they are more akin to artistic rather than functional objects (it can be a fine line in delineating between art and function when talking about watches, but the distinction was clear in my head with respect to how I felt about my vintage VC collection). After a big initial culling on the vintage side I decided I could part with all but one, the Chronometer Royal. This watch epitomizes Vacheron Constantin at its best. The design, with the lugs that echo the shape of the Maltese Cross that is the symbol of the brands, exhibits a flair that is both attractive and bold. The Alpha hands are a nice variation on the Dauphine hands that were often seen on 1950’s wristwatches, and were unique to the Chronometer Royal line. But it is the movement which really moves my heart. The caliber 1008/BS represents Vacheron Constantin at its technical and aesthetic best. Based on the workhorse caliber 453, it adds a “balance stop” lever for accurate time setting, is fully jeweled for optimal rate results, is finished to earn the Geneva Hallmark, and is a COSC Certified Chronometer, adjusted to five positions, temperatures, and isochronism. In its time it was the pinnacle of functional and aesthetic finishing in a wristwatch, and only rarely topped today.


The Overseas Chronometer was my first VC, and so it holds a special places in my heart. While not my first high-end watch, its purchase coincided with my discovery of this forum and my participation on it. Even more than the watches, I enjoy my interactions with fellow collectors, both online and in person. While I have also owner the newer automatic Overseas as well as the older Overseas Chronograph, this is the watch that I always come back to. It is my daily wearer despite it being unfashionably small , animated by a Girard Perregaux ebauche which I cannot get excited about, and having bracelet links that “lock” in a kink. I just love it! (And isn’t that what this is all about, anyway?)


Bill