watchme
1658
Well, as you no doubt know...
V&C began a "close cooperation" agreement with JLC in 1928 or so. Many times it wasn't simply ebauche supply, but outright full movement, though JLC would disassemble and send the kits to Geneva for V&C as well as PP to decorate and reassemble to the Geneva Seal's 12 criteria.
I agree with you wholeheartedly that the movements, if regularly maintained, would still work almost flawlessly today.
The calendar watch you posted was a direct, full movement to V&C.
Thanks for sharing your post.
-Dean
Favorite Vacheron Constantin Movement
I’ll need a few more words to help explain which is my favorite movement from Vacheron Constantin. There are many outstanding choices in this category, from vintage to modern and from simple to complicated, but if I could choose only one, it would be the ...
Well, as you no doubt know...
V&C began a "close cooperation" agreement with JLC in 1928 or so. Many times it wasn't simply ebauche supply, but outright full movement, though JLC would disassemble and send the kits to Geneva for V&C as well as PP to decorate and reassemble to ...
The Greatest Automatic
Oooh Bill, you certainly know how to provoke a response ;-) I wholeheartedly agree with your selection but would also advocate for the automatic tour-de-force that followed...the caliber 107x family. These 29-jewel masterpieces were introduced in 1959 as ...
Great choice Dean...
That would be my choice as well had I preferred an automatic caliber. Vintage "grail" VC's with those movements include the Cioccolatone, Chronometer Royal (as in your photo), and the "Turnograph," which I believe you also once possessed. Not that choosin...
Caliber 1071/1072 Reference Numbers
Thanks for the reminder re Cioccolatone Bill. The model was launched in the early 1950's with the 477 bumper-wind movement, followed by the 499 rotor-winding auto and the caliber 1019 in 1956. It appears both the 1019 and 1071 were used for a period, then...
Great choices Bill and Dean
May I add cal 1120 and the gilt pocket watch movements of the past? Posting from a mobile phone with no access to pictures that I can upload. BR, Dan
Hello Bill!
Great selection of movements! Love the TD especially with the teardrops lugs! Hope you don’t mind me saying hello with a pair of JLC sisters! As Dean mentioned VC and JLC movement shared a lot back then. This pair has the JLC Cal 464/A. By the way, had th...
Leave it to you, Blomman...
...to show with some beautiful vintage ladies and documentation to deepen the discussion. These history lessons are good for a neophyte like me to deepen my appreciation for these brands. I really like that 464/A movement photo. That is a great looking mo...
Just pure luck!
I found this movement catalogue just some weeks ago. Only reason I picked it up was because many of the movements/parts are the same as for JLC movements. Still have no VC in my collection, but if I would go for one, the 1921 is definitely on the top of t...
It's funny what you say about this movement, Blomman
I was at an event a couple of weeks ago where the VC representative explained to me, in between wiping my drool from the watch, that VC made this new movement bigger just so that they could put it into bigger watches -- and yet it still seems too small to...
Well, small is maybe not fair to say…
But compared to many other brands/watches the back crystal is quite small in relation to the case. It doesn’t have to be like the IWC’s Portuguese, but I do like when you don’t feel like a small peephole. Best Blomman
Hi Blomman
Those JLC triple calendar watches are one of the best bargains in watches. Yours look great! Regarding the American 1921, I have no problem with the size of the movement relative to the case, but I recognize that these things are for each individual to di...
Thank you, Bill.
I love the TD’s. About the movement, as I wrote in my later comment, maybe I was unfair. When I saw your report of the 1921 I got really excited so my expectations were maybe too high and in the wrong direction. In my mind (from the look of the watc...
Thanks, Bill
This is a great thread. The movement pics are wonderful to see, and I appreciate the history lesson from you, Dean and Blomman. I had not realized that there was a relationship between JLC and VC as far back as the '20s. You know, if I were really pressed...
I understand what you mean....
and I wrote about those aesthetic considerations in a "Musings on the Caliber 4400" thread a while back, but I have since grown comfortable with the movement. I can't reduce a "Favorite Dial" post to one watch since VC has such a rich selection of outstan...
Good idea, Bill
I would love to see such a thread on VC dials. I, too, think I have grown comfortable with the c.4400. Only time will tell if it turns out to be a fine movement that serves VC well over many years. It is still in its infancy, I would guess. Thank you, Rob...
Superb post, Bill.
How could I miss it??? If I remember correctly, the 1007 / 1008 were based on the JLC Geophysic movement, and finished within the VC standards. A superb movement, by the way. The VC triple date movements used indeed a JLC movement, too, finished by VC. In...