Hello, It's my first post here, I'd like to ask for your expert opinion. I bought this elegant, early 1970s VC and am actually very happy with it. I took it to my watchmaker to look at the movement (1014, made by JLC) and everything seems fine. I'd like t...
Hi, Thanks for the replies. I attach two more pictures: case back and side view. I removed the case number as it seems to be the common practice. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the movement – but I do count on my watchmaker's judgement regarding...
And do not know if VC ever made dials without the apostrophe or not, but the rest looks to be the real deal. Let's hope the VC experts will chime in on this one. Best Blomman
I feel that leaving off the accent makes for a much cleaner dial (no wonder it has become commonplace ever since). I find this case shape to be extremely elegant – there's something "tankish" about it, but somehow more satisfyingly understated.
In my opinion, the 'accent grave' should not miss on the original factory dials. Therefore I think the dial has, at least, been cleaned. This watches often appear to got moisture intrusion, what often calls for a refinish afterwards...thince customers pre...
It's actually 2019, not 2014. The prints you superimpose seem to correspond to the print on the dial, or am I missing something? What about the hands, as you mention them, something wrong? I did buy this watch from a reputable dealer, and the movement is,...
sorry for that writing fault but, what a dealer or watchmaker says about a movement, is irrelevant for authentification in the online forum. A dealer will tell you often, everything is ok, but if you check the offerings, it isn't. The only evidence which ...
I'm totally willing to take bad news, if need be, and I can also still send the watch back. So I'm genuinely interested in what you have to say. I did not ask though to authenticate the watch –the case back numbers do match and I also have the movement nu...
Your statements regarding dial and case must have been based on some reference. And when you write "I would buy another sample," you must have something in mind. Paraphrasing your own statement, I'd say that claiming without references is irrelevant in an...
to check the caseback number and movement number, if they match that should give you the production date, if they don't match then it is either fake or made up of parts. There used to be a forum called "The Hour Lounge" that Vacheron ran (I heard it is ma...
it is a free service (since the website is down today it is even easier just click the concierge for your specific country, ie if you're in North America you just click it and it will pop out an email imediately for you to write), and faster than Extract ...
It is not that easy with this watch. You can look at nice and propper samples like this: Regarding the dial, this Roman numeral style has been produced form early 1960 to (at least) early 1980 in many variants, fitted in many different refs. To come to a ...
I obviously had googled this reference thoroughly. And I haven't found many references that I can call reliable, and none that I can call comparable. I did find links to watches like the ones you post above (and again – of course I did not buy from that d...
If the watch is from that dealer ( SO-VL ), I expect it to be (not that mentioned mill), you will probably don't have the chance to return it. It is a one man company. It sells also on catawiki. If you check the comments there, you will recognise that not...
If your case number I guess is 4846xx, the movement number I guess in the range 64xxxx, than the production date was in the early 70', as already stated initially. This would narrow the dials and refs to compare significantly. The inconsistent font which ...
From what I remember and again from the Hour Lounge, VC associated each case back number to each movement and none were identical (at least that i recal for movement and caseback). the inside numbers were a reference number (for your VC) and caseback prod...
the marks are perfect, the case manufaturer mark is missing at those refs in general, the other marks are original. Orginal K1014 in very good, in the first sight, original condition with little to no scratches, clean, no corrosion, no corrosion would cor...
The answer is, no, of course not. First of all, to came up to this conclusion, you have to check the things under real world conditions with a magnifying glass. Finding a pristine dial at a 45-year-old watch is very rare. Usually it would often come along...
Regarding real world conditions, I can say that the watch "feels," for what it's worth, very good. I have handled a couple of good vintage watchs in my life and this one just "feels" right. Regarding your assumption about the case: I'm not so sure about i...
First of all, even if I look at your watch, I could recognize the remains of the brushed surface. Second to that, for me the polished surface is not the used learned V&C look and feel in aesthetic terms, not the V&C style. Third to that, I would m...
Regarding the case, I'm not quite convinced. I attach pictures of four different cases from the same era, very much V&C feel and aesthetics to me. All – apart from the automatic one – equipped with the 1014. All with polished case finishing. Now, it could...
You are not convinced? That's no problem, for me it is fine, as long as I'm convinced. Off course, I could pull out some more evidence, but I think I would have done enough right now. But remember, I was not taking about ref in 70' in general. My recommen...
You are probably right that the original case finishing was satin. However, it seems that the watch was not aggressively polished. I went today to two watchmakers and one vintage dealer in the metropolis I call home. They suggest that this is normal wear,...
The movement cal. 1014 has been in use with many modifications for at least 25 years. It did not feature the option of a free-sprung escapement and it does not appear that V&C produce it under Geneva hallmark of quality. But it was of course finished to t...
It's often stated, V&C start to use the 9''' movement cal. K1014 in the late 1970's, that's clearly wrong. Have a look at this sample of a V&C Extract of the Archives and also the known movement numbers talk a different language. ...
before I stated '... the case manufacturer mark is missing at those refs in general ...', that's probably not correct. It's maybe a Poinçon de Maître which I was not used to yet. Where usually the Poinçon de Maître (e.g. hammer head X red) would appear, t...
..From 1880 to 1933 there were two Swiss standards for gold, 18 carat signified by the female head of Helvetia, and 14 carat signified by a squirrel. These standards continued after 1933 with the same marks, but the sign of the morgenstern (which translat...
Vacheron & Constantin early 1970's buckle markings: AW is the maker's mark, a well known manufacturer of buckles. SWISS is origin. 0,750 is 18K gold. Déposé is shorthand for Modèle Déposé, which is Swiss/French for "Registered Design". I could not mak...
Came back with 1970, starts with 45 for caseback and 63 for movement serial (you'll have to trust me on this one as that photo I've lost and won't re-take until Vacheron services my piece, if I find it I'll post it on a new thread). I've got a little bit ...
The case number does not quite fit in 1972?! Those sample ref 7813 below, with Extract of the Archives, is movement number 628xxx from 1972. When your movement was finished in 1972, then your watch was finished in 1972 as well. Maybe your case was pre pro...
From what I remember the case and refernece numbers dont have a sequential order they paired a case with a movement so movement 55 could have case 70 for example. If my piece is infact a prototype that would be sweet but we shall see in the future. The ex...
the movements are in-house production, if there is a number lower than yours than your movement is later production. ... 628 xxx from 1972 63x xxx from 1972 is number 628 xxx + 2 xxx movements for your watch 634 xxx from 1973 651 xxx from 1973 ... For aut...
movements could have been delivered in batches but only cased at a later date. The only way to be perfectly sure is to contact VC with case and movement numbers and they will provide date of production.
I have not seen a similar number combination at that ref, I would not tend to buy it with out such a confirmation. I recognized also some wired ups and downs with the numbers at other movements and case.
There have already been serious discussions about the valuation and reception of the V&C K1040 movement and in my opinion they are both quite worth to reflect on. First of all I would like to mention the article 'The Decay of the Angel' by Carlos Perez, J...
My feeling tells me to conform with Carlos Perez. My brain would tell me, earning no money would mean, no future - that would bring me very close to Dr. Roland Ranfft. But that Dr. Roland Ranfft tells us, to compare movements is not possible, is for me no...
As I have explained before the both opinions Perez vs. Dr. Ranfft seem to have their week spots. Now we go right along and deconstruct the K1014 movement and than compare even every single part. But are we at the right starting point? - Probably no, of co...
If we change to a starting point closer to the origin of the K1014 movement the the picture would quite well look more like this. This picture (below) shows a Vacheron cal. K1001/2 movement from late 1960's or early 1970's (left side) and a Vacheron cal. ...
When I look at that two movements, immediately something is itching my eye, look at that very detail. Wasn't there something looking quite inconsistent? Should this have been made by Vacheron watch production staff? Would this execution of a free cut have...
A comparison to a picture from a V&C catalouge from 1974 shows clearly, the case of ref 2019 got a satin finish. The ref '2019 A' won't be much different. ...
The original case finishing was most probably satin, but the watch has not been aggressively polished – it's just normal wear, very much like scratches or patina. How would you go about restoring the original finish? Send it to VC? I've owned this watch f...
You can find often a treatment with a sandpaper, but that's not the same effect. I would leave it like it is, your's has a pretty good shape and it's easy to make things getting worse.
I would be more concerned about the reference and movement numbers matching, plus the casbeack and the hallmark engravings on his reference over anything else. I think the OP's main concern should be sending Vacheron an email and going from there, we can ...
all in all it always pays to look at the dials on a specific reference and if the majority of these had the accent then we should assume it could have been but without conclusive proof the accent shouldn't be the go to, it should be the case and movement ...
There are actually two instances when you should always use accents on capital letters in French language: a) In proper nouns, such as the name of a company or a person. b) When accents avoid embarrassing misunderstandings or mistakes. This is what Académ...
A couple of days ago I sent Vacheron Constantin an email, as suggested by Rogi, with the case and movement number. Yesterday they wrote me back that the number correspond to a watch manufactured in 1973.
I'm reviving here that good ol' thread. But for a mighty good reason: some vintage Vacheron scholarship. It seems that that accent grave was, as assumed, not intended to appear on the dial of this particular model. An identical model, albeit in white gold...