Replica Vacheron Constantin Selects and Sells Splendid Vintage Pieces

Art calls art. Watchmaking is like whiskey: the older it is, the more delicious and valuable it is, and in the world of springs and hands this also means shining with its own light, that is, being able to offer pieces looking at both the present and the past.

Recently the Replica Vacheron Constantin manufacturer had the brilliant idea – or at least it is especially brilliant for it which can boast 260 years of existence – of restoring and selling its vintage watches in events organized in its boutiques around the world.

Ok, it’s a marketing gimmick and you don’t need a birth certificate dated 1755 to have one, you might be thinking. Certainly, but do you have any idea what it means to have centuries-old connections with your vintage market?

A private collection of more than fifteen hundred pieces. An archive of almost three hundred years containing every specimen ever produced catalogued, with the “instructions” and the savoir-faire to get your hands on it. Does this seem like little to you?

But how does it work?

The Vacheron Constantin Heritage team takes care of bringing together its vintage watches, both pocket and wristwatches. All channels are used: auction rooms, personal contacts with private individuals with an approach and knowledge of timepieces that no one – except those who made them – can boast.

Pocket watches mainly covering the years 1910 to 1930 and wristwatches before 1970 – with a preference for the period 1940 to 1960 – are then subjected to a double evaluation.

First, the department says, a historical evaluation is carried out to authenticate the piece with reference to its archive which has been listing cases and movements by serial number for a century and a half. This is then followed by a technical evaluation to determine what interventions may be necessary, from simple cleaning of the watch to its restoration with the aim of preserving these timepieces in a state as close as possible to their original state.

Obviously, if the case makes it necessary, each piece is put back into operation using vintage components, of which Vacheron Constantin logically has a large availability, or reproduced from drawings in the old way and in identical form within the manufacture.

In the end, each watch is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity and a two-year guarantee, which is the same one that comes with all the models in the Maison’s standard collections and all this without having to consult Doc and Marty! Isn’t it wonderful?

Let’s leave it to lucky collectors to have the result of such alchemy in their hands, but in the meantime let’s feast our eyes on these three pieces.

Rare “open” pocket watch with minute repeater – 1928

In the early 20th century, platinum became prized for its modern appearance, its strength and its workability which facilitates case making. Thanks to its rarity and its physical qualities it instantly becomes the noblest material.

During the Art Deco period, Vacheron Constantin combined it with rock crystal, colored stones and skeletonized movements to make extraordinary pocket watches. Since time immemorial, Vacheron Constantin has been considered a specialist in the production of ultra-thin striking mechanisms.

This piece was sold in New York in 1929. Silver dial, black enamelled Arabic numerals, small seconds at 6 o’clock, outer minute track, minute circle. Manual winding.
Diameter: 46mm, thickness 5.7mm.
Price: (excluding tax) 5,800,000 yen. (around 45,000 Eur)

18k gold wristwatch with full calendar ref. 4240 – 1947

The reference 4240 was chosen to be redesigned by the Maison in 2017 within the Historiques collection.

Launched in 1942, it immediately became an emblematic model of the Maison thanks to the recognizable “triple godrons” case design and its twisted lugs. This hand-wound model has a two-tone silver dial, day and month indication between 12 o’clock and center in French, date indication with hand on one turn of the outer dial with red Arabic numerals, small seconds at 6 o’clock. Two Similar references were sold at auction in 2019 and, according to archive extracts, were sold in Tangier in 1947.

Diameter: 35mm
Price: (excluding taxes) 3,900,000 yen (approximately 30,800 Eur)

Rose gold chronograph ref. 4072 – 1946

The reference 4072 is one of Vacheron Constantin’s 2 most successful chronograph models (the other is the ref. 4178). Its production began in the late 1930s and ended in the early 1970s.

During its production, the reference 7072 housed three different chronograph calibers: 295; V492 and V434. Research shows that the reference 4072 housed the caliber 492 in very few examples, less than 100 pieces were made in rose gold.

This hand-wound watch has a white enamel dial, 2 Arabic numerals and 8 gold indexes, 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, small seconds at 9 o’clock, external minute track. This piece was first sold in Geneva in 1947.