Vacheron Constantin Explained

Vacheron Constantin SA
Type:Subsidiary
Industry:Luxury watchmaking
Foundation:1755 in Geneva
1819 (became Vacheron & Constantin)
1970 (became Vacheron Constantin)
Founder:Jean-Marc Vacheron
Hq Location:Plan-les-Ouates, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland
46.166°N 6.1005°W
Area Served:Worldwide
Key People:Louis Ferla (CEO)
Products:Mechanical watches, clocks
Production:Around 20,000 (2018)
Num Employees:Around 1,200 (2018)
Parent:Richemont (since 1996)

Vacheron Constantin SA (in French pronounced as /vaʃəʁɔ̃ kɔ̃stɑ̃tɛ̃/) is a Swiss luxury watch and clock manufacturer founded in 1755.[1] Since 1996, it has been a subsidiary of the Swiss Richemont Group. Vacheron Constantin is one of the oldest watch manufacturers in the world with an uninterrupted watchmaking history since its foundation in 1755.[2] It employs around 1,200 people worldwide as of 2018, most of whom are based in the company's manufacturing plants in the Canton of Geneva and Vallée de Joux in Switzerland.[3]

Vacheron Constantin is a highly regarded watch manufacturer.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] The Vacheron Constantin pocket watch No. 402833 (1929), which was owned by King Fuad I of Egypt, ranks as one of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching US$2.77 million (3,306,250 CHF) in Geneva on April 3, 2005.[10] In 2015, Vacheron Constantin introduced the pocket watch Reference 57260, which currently holds the title of the most complicated mechanical watch ever made, with 57 horological complications.[11]

History

Early history

The business was founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, an independent watchmaker in Geneva, Switzerland.[12] He was a close friend of leading Enlightenment philosophers Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Voltaire due to their common interests in philosophy, science and watchmaking.[13] [14] [15] In 1770, Vacheron's company created the world's first horological complication, and nine years later he designed the first engine-turned dials. The son of Jean-Marc Vacheron, Abraham Vacheron took over the family business in 1785. In 1810, Jacques-Barthélemy Vacheron, the grandson of the founder, became the head of the company.[16] He was the first to initiate the company's exports to France and Italy. Later, Jacques-Barthélemy realized that he was not able to handle the business alone. In order to travel overseas and sell the company's products, he needed a partner. Consequently, in 1819, François Constantin became an associate of Vacheron. The company continued its activities under the new name Vacheron & Constantin. The company's motto (which remains today), "Faire mieux si possible, ce qui est toujours possible (Do better if possible and that is always possible)", first appeared in Constantin's letter to Jacques-Barthélémy.[17] The letter was dated July 5, 1819.

François Constantin traveled around the world and marketed watches. The main market at the time was North America. In 1833, Vacheron and Constantin hired Georges-Auguste Leschot, whose job was to supervise the manufacturing operations. In particular, Leschot was an inventor and his creations turned out to be a success for the company. His inventions had significant impact on the watchmaking industry in general, and he was the first person to standardize watch movements into Calibers. In 1844, Georges-Auguste Leschot was awarded with a gold medal from the Arts Society of Geneva, which highly appreciated Leschot's pantographic device - a device that was able to mechanically engrave small watch parts and dials.

Re-organization

After François Constantin's death in 1854 and Jacques-Barthélemy Vacheron's death in 1863, the company was taken over by a series of heirs. At one point, the company was headed by two women. In 1862, Vacheron Constantin became a member of the Association for Research into non-magnetic materials.

In 1877, Vacheron & Constantin, Fabricants, Geneve became the official name of the company.[18] In 1880, the company started using the Maltese cross as its symbol until today. This was inspired by a component of the barrel, which had a cross-shape and was used for limiting the tension within the mainspring.

In 1887, Vacheron & Constantin was reorganized into a joint-stock company.[19] Notably, in the same year, Fabergé's 1887 Third Imperial Egg contained a Vacheron Constantin Lady's watch as the surprise. For the remarkable achievements of the company, Vacheron & Constantin was awarded a gold medal at the Swiss National Exhibition in Geneva in 1887.[20] The first Vacheron & Constantin boutique in Geneva was opened in 1906.

During the Great Depression, Vacheron & Constantin found itself in a difficult situation. In 1936, Charles Constantin became the head of the company, the first time since 1850s that a representative from the Constantin family became the president of Vacheron & Constantin. However, in 1940, Georges Ketterer acquired the majority portion of the stock of Vacheron & Constantin from Charles Constantin.[21]

Recent development

George Ketterer died in 1969, and his son, Jacques Ketterer, succeeded as the head of Vacheron & Constantin. In 1970, the company officially changed its name to Vacheron Constantin.

Vacheron Constantin was affected by the quartz crisis during 1970s and 1980s.[22] When Jacques Ketterer died in 1987, Vacheron Constantin changed hands. Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani, the former Oil Minister of Saudi Arabia and avid watch collector, became the company's majority shareholder, who then folded Vacheron Constantin into his personal portfolio of holdings.[23] In 1996, the entire share capital of Vacheron Constantin was bought by the Swiss Richemont Group.[24] [25]

In 2004, Vacheron Constantin opened its new headquarters and manufacture in Plan-les-Ouates, Geneva.[26] The Vacheron Constantin headquarters building in Geneva was designed by Bernard Tschumi, and has been noted for its architectural significance.[27] [28] [29] [30] In October 2005, the Richemont Group named Juan Carlos Torres as the chief executive officer of the company.[31] Currently, the company is an active member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH, and produces about 20,000 timepieces per year.[32] [33] [34]

Motto and slogan

The company motto of Vacheron Constantin is "Faire mieux si possible, ce qui est toujours possible (Do better if possible, and that is always possible)".[35] The motto first appeared in a François Constantin's letter to Jacques-Barthélémy, and the letter was dated July 5, 1819.

Watch manufacturing

Notable inventions and patents

The following are some of the notable achievements of Vacheron Constantin in watch manufacturing.

Environmental rating

In December 2018, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released a report assigning environmental ratings to 15 major watch manufacturers and jewelers in Switzerland.[38] [39] Vacheron Constantin was given an average environmental rating as "Upper Midfield", suggesting that the manufacturer has taken first actions addressing the impact of its manufacturing activities on the environment and climate change.

Notable models

Most expensive pieces

See main article: List of most expensive watches sold at auction.

Overseas wristwatch

In 1996, Vacheron Constantin formally introduced a new high-end sports line called Overseas.[47] [48] The precursor of Overseas collection, however, was originally introduced in 1977 during the quartz crisis. The precursor was the wristwatch Ref. 222, which was designed by a 23-year-old designer named Jorg Hysek.[49] [50]

The original version of Overseas was revamped in 2004, and was re-invented again in 2016.[51] Some of the Overseas wristwatches also come with complications such as chronograph, World Time, tourbillon, moon phase, and so on.

Patrimony wristwatch

The Patrimony wristwatch is a model of Vacheron Constantin. The collection was introduced in 2004, and is known for its simple and elegant design as well as its ultra-thin case.[52] The designer was inspired by some of the company's watch models back in 1950s.[53]

In 2009, Vacheron Constantin decided to integrate the minute repeating complication into some of the Patrimony wristwatches, and the end product was the Patrimony Calibre 1731, the world's thinnest minute repeater.[54] The current Patrimony collection also includes some other complications such as perpetual calendars, moon phase indicators, and so on.

Métiers d'Art wristwatch

In 2007, Vacheron Constantin introduced the Métiers d'Art 'Les Masques' collection of timepieces featuring miniature reproductions of primitive art masks.[55] The company selected 12 masks from a private museum collection and reproduced them on a small scale. The miniaturized masks are featured in the dial centre of every watch from the 'Les Masques' collection.[56]

In 2012, Vacheron Constantin introduced the Métiers d'Art 'Les Univers Infinis' collection of timepieces featuring tessellation, a design of interlocking shapes inspired by the work of the Dutch artist M. C. Escher.

250th anniversary edition

See main article: Tour de I'lle.

In 2005, Vacheron Constantin created the wristwatch "Tour de I'lle" to mark the anniversary of 250 years of Vacheron Constantin.[57] The watch includes 834 parts and 16 horological complications, including tourbillon, minute repeater, moon phase as well as moon age, and took over 10,000 hours of research and development.

The Tour de l'lle wristwatch is one of the most complicated wristwatches in the world. In total, only seven pieces were manufactured, each of which had a sale price over US$1 million.[58] On April 3, 2005, a Tour de I'lle wristwatch fetched a final price of 1.56 million US dollars (1,876,250 CHF) in Antiquorum's Geneva auction. The auctioned piece has a unique black dial.

260th anniversary edition

See main article: Reference 57260.

In 2015, during the manufacturer's 260th anniversary, Vacheron Constantin revealed the world's most complicated mechanical watch, named Reference 57260. The pocket watch took three watchmakers eight years to build the 57-complication pocket watch at the request of a client. Vacheron Constantin would not disclose the exact price of this watch but did confirm that it was between 8 million and 20 million US dollars.[59]

The Reference 57260 is part of Vacheron Constantin's lineage of tailor-made grand complicated pocket watches since James W. Packard's pocket watch (1918), which was auctioned for US$1.763 million by Christie's in New York on June 15, 2011.[60] [61] In addition, the Vacheron Constantin pocket watch Ref. 402833 (1929), which was tailored for King Fuad I of Egypt, ranks as one of the most expensive watches ever sold at auction, fetching US$2.77 million (3,306,250 CHF) in Geneva on April 3, 2005. In 1946, Vacheron Constantin tailored a complicated pocket watch for King Farouk of Egypt, the successor of King Fuad I, and in 1948 the company tailored another one for Count Guy de Boisrouvray of France.[62] [63]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Company Overview of Vacheron & Constantin SA. www.bloomberg.com. 2019-02-01.
  2. Web site: Birth of the Vacheron Constantin Manufacture of Haute Horlogerie - Vacheron Constantin. heritage.vacheron-constantin.com. 2018-12-13.
  3. News: Brand Awareness is the Goal at Vacheron Constantin. Gomelsky. Victoria. 2016-11-16. The New York Times. 2018-12-11. en-US. 0362-4331.
  4. Web site: 5 reasons collectors love Vacheron Constantin Christie's. www.christies.com. en. 2018-12-11.
  5. Web site: Vacheron Constantin - Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. www.hautehorlogerie.org. 2019-01-02.
  6. Web site: Father Time: Swiss Watches. Cigar Aficionado. en-US. 2019-01-05.
  7. Web site: Six Decades of Watchmaking Excellence. Seymour. Alan. Sotheby's.
  8. Web site: World's oldest watchmaker opens boutique in Beirut. 2016-11-30. Executive Life. en-US. 2019-02-16.
  9. Web site: 5 reasons collectors love Vacheron Constantin Christie's. www.christies.com. en. 2019-01-13.
  10. Web site: King Fouad Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, No. 402833, case No. 251058.. catalog.antiquorum.swiss. 2018-11-26.
  11. Web site: Vacheron Constantin reference 57260 - the most complicated watch. reference57260.vacheron-constantin.com. 2018-11-30.
  12. http://montres.lepoint.fr/Magazine/Grand-horlogers/jean-marc-vacheron-03-12-2012-1539096_827.php Jean-Marc Vacheron: 1731 – 1805, Suisse
  13. Web site: Vacheron Constantin ticks over 250 years. SWI swissinfo.ch. en. 2019-02-26.
  14. Web site: Opening of "Treasures of Vacheron Constantin - A Legacy of Watchmaking since 1755" Exhinibition. National University of Singapore. 2019-02-26.
  15. Web site: Vacheron Constantin honors Jean-Jacques Rousseau. 2012-10-04. Chronos Plus. en-US. 2019-02-26.
  16. Web site: History - Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. www.hautehorlogerie.org. 2019-02-23.
  17. Web site: History - Fondation de la Haute Horlogerie. www.hautehorlogerie.org. 2018-12-13.
  18. Web site: Why Vacheron Constantin Has Earned Their Spot in the Holy Trinity. www.shreve.com. 2019-02-03.
  19. Web site: EWC: History of Vacheron Constantin. www.europeanwatch.com. 2019-02-02.
  20. Web site: EWC: History of Vacheron Constantin. www.europeanwatch.com. 2019-01-02.
  21. Web site: EWC: History of Vacheron Constantin. www.europeanwatch.com. 2018-12-13.
  22. Web site: This Swiss watchmaker is trying to win millennials by selling $45,000 watches online. Green. Dennis. Business Insider. 2019-03-04. 15 February 2017.
  23. News: YAMANI IS HANDED A DEFEAT IN BID FOR SWISS WATCH FIRM. Washington Post. 2018-12-13. en-US. 0190-8286.
  24. Web site: Compagnie Financière Richemont SA - Juan-Carlos Torres to succeed Claude-Daniel Proellochs as Chief Executive of Vacheron Constantin. www.richemont.com. 2018-12-11.
  25. Web site: How Richemont Plans to Survive in a Changing 21st Century Marketplace. www.bloomberg.com. 2018-12-11.
  26. Web site: Vacheron Constantin / Bernard Tschumi Architects. 14 September 2016.
  27. 1001 Buildings You Must See Before You Die,Quintessence Books, 2007, p 843
  28. Web site: Vacheron Constantin / Bernard Tschumi Architects. 14 September 2016. 10 July 2018.
  29. Web site: Bernard Tschumi's Architecture Is Not Just About Space And Form But Also The Events Happening Inside. Mun-Delsalle. Y-Jean. 10 July 2018.
  30. Web site: Bernard Tschumi Architects | - Vacheron Constantin Headquarters and Manufacturing Center | the Plan.
  31. Web site: Juan-Carlos Torres. www.bloomberg.com. 2018-12-13.
  32. Web site: Watch brands. Federation of the swiss watch industry.
  33. Web site: Vacheron Constantin. chronohunter.com. en. 2018-12-11.
  34. News: Vacheron Constantin and 'The Human Touch'. Swithinbank. Robin. 2019-03-20. The New York Times. 2019-03-21. en-US. 0362-4331.
  35. Web site: Do better if possible, and that is always possible. Vacheron Constantin. en. 2019-01-23.
  36. Web site: Vacheron Constantin reference 57260 - the most complicated watch. reference57260.vacheron-constantin.com. 2019-04-01.
  37. News: Hands-On: The Vacheron Constantin 57260, The Most Complicated Watch In The World (Exclusive Live Photos, Thoughts) - HODINKEE. en. HODINKEE. 2018-11-30.
  38. Web site: Environmental rating and industry report 2018. World Wide Fund for Nature. 2019-01-19.
  39. Web site: Swiss luxury watches fail to meet environmental standards. SWI swissinfo.ch. en. 2019-01-19.
  40. Web site: 10 of the Finest Vacheron Watches of All-Time. Berman. Nat. 2016-06-20. Money Inc. en-US. 2019-02-01.
  41. Web site: 10 of the Finest Vacheron Watches of All-Time. 20 June 2016. 10 July 2018.
  42. News: The 24 Most Expensive Watches Ever Sold At Auction. Business Insider. 2018-11-26.
  43. Web site: As a mysterious clock, L'sEsprit des Cabinotiers' sums up all that the Manufacture has offered over a quar-ter of a millennium, and indeed continues to offer at the most demanding and most accomplished level of haute horlogerie and artistic craftsmanship. catalog.antiquorum.swiss. 2019-02-18.
  44. Web site: Tour de I'lle Antiquorum Vacheron Constantin. catalog.antiquorum.swiss. 2018-12-04.
  45. Book: Important Modern & Vintage Timepieces .
  46. Web site: VACHERON CONSTANTIN (MOVEMENT NO, 375551, CASE NO. 231922, MADE FOR JAMES WARD PACKARD IN 1918). en. 2018-12-02.
  47. Web site: Vintage Eye for the Modern Guy: Vacheron Constantin Overseas. Caleb. Anderson. 2017-03-12. WatchTime. en-US. 2018-12-21.
  48. Web site: Technical and aesthetic daring, the specialty of Vacheron Constantin. - Vacheron Constantin. heritage.vacheron-constantin.com. 2019-01-05.
  49. Web site: The History of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas – The Other 1970s Icon. 2016-11-01. Monochrome Watches. en-US. 2019-01-05.
  50. Web site: Hands-On: The Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph, Now With The Geneva Hallmark And In-House Caliber 5200. February 17, 2016. Arthur. Touchot. Hodinkee. en. 2019-01-05.
  51. Web site: Overseas. Vacheron Constantin. en. 2019-01-05.
  52. Web site: EWC: History of Vacheron Constantin. www.europeanwatch.com. 2019-01-16.
  53. Web site: Patrimony. Vacheron Constantin. en. 2019-01-16.
  54. Web site: A Watch of Note: The Inside Story of the Vacheron Constantin Patrimony Contemporaine Calibre 1731. 2015-03-28. WatchTime - USA's No.1 Watch Magazine. en-US. 2019-01-16.
  55. Web site: Innovation and tradition for the fine watchmaking of tomorrow. - Vacheron Constantin. heritage.vacheron-constantin.com. 2019-01-05.
  56. Web site: Vacheron Constantin Metiers d'Art 'Les Masques'.
  57. Web site: Vacheron Constantin Tour De I'lle. 2017-10-27. Totalprestige Magazine. en-US. 2019-01-29.
  58. Web site: Top Luxury Watches: Vacheron Constantin Tour de I'lle. www.millionairematch.com. 2019-01-29.
  59. Web site: The World's Most Complicated Watch with 57 Complications. 17 September 2015. monochrome-watches.com.
  60. Web site: Vacheron Constantin reference 57260 - the most complicated watch. reference57260.vacheron-constantin.com. 2019-04-01.
  61. Web site: VACHERON CONSTANTIN (MOVEMENT NO, 375551, CASE NO. 231922, MADE FOR JAMES WARD PACKARD IN 1918). www.christies.com. en. 2019-04-01.
  62. Web site: Vacheron Constantin reference 57260 - the most complicated watch. reference57260.vacheron-constantin.com. 2018-11-30.
  63. Web site: Vacheron Constantin reference 57260 - the most complicated watch. reference57260.vacheron-constantin.com. 2019-04-01.