Iconic watches

The pride and joy of Vacheron Constantin’s heritage, this silver piece bearing the “J.M. Vacheron à Geneve” signature on its movement is the only watch known that identifies the founder of the Maison by his first name. Featuring a crown-wheel escapement, this watch is decorated with "delicately chased gold hands". The finely worked balance-cock on the most visible part of the movement is also evidence of an expertise that was already perfectly mastered. These high technical and aesthetic standards would go on to become a part of the Vacheron Constantin identity.

The Maison released its first Chronomètre Royal in 1907 and had the name trademarked. This pocket chronometer really stood out from the other watches being made at the time and would quickly become a worldwide success. Its legendary durability, reliability, and precision were very much appreciated by those who lived in climates that were considered, up until then, as ill-suited for the proper functioning of a watch.

Behind its seeming simplicity, this pocket watch hides an exceptionally complex mechanism. Created for the famous American automobile manufacturer and watch collector James Ward Packard, this piece combines several particularly unique complications: chronograph with 30-minute counter, petite sonnerie and grande sonnerie, and quarter hours and half-quarter hours repeater. Among its other features are the Guillaume compensation balance, a rock crystal glass, and a chased case in 20K gold, personalized with the owner’s monogram in blue enamel champlevé.

This magnificent pocket watch is decorated with an enamel miniature of Nicolas Poussin’s pastoral painting Et in Arcadia ego. The enameling was carried out by Louise Goll, one of the leading Genevan miniaturists of the early 20th century. The dust cover features an engraving based on a Léopold Robert painting, The Arrival of the Harvesters in the Pontine Marshes, below which is found an excerpt from the score of Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. A masterpiece of the collection, with a movement entirely engraved by hand, it displays the talents of the Maison's craftsmen, proof that the artistic crafts are inseparable from both the history of fine watchmaking in Geneva and Vacheron Constantin.

In 1932, Vacheron Constantin's collaboration with Louis Cottier led to the creation of the first watch featuring the Cottier system, the Heure Universelle, reference number 3372. Its unique mechanical movement features 24 time zones by means of a disk that rotates around the central dial and by an outer bezel on which are written the names of 31 major international cities. A new complication that responded perfectly to the evolving means of communication and transport. Ever-present within the Maison’s current collections, this complication has undergone multiple developments often linked to the geopolitical situation of different countries.

Vacheron Constantin created one of its most complicated watches for King Farouk, son of King Fuad I of Egypt, who inherited his father’s appreciation of fine watchmaking. It took five years to compete this masterpiece, featuring 14 complications. This striking watch with two gear trains is made of 18K yellow gold. It features a carillon minute repeater with grande and petite sonneries, equipped with three gongs and three hammers, a split-seconds chronograph and 30-minute counter, a perpetual calendar, a moon phase and moon age indicator, an alarm, and two power reserve indicators.

This characteristic watch was launched in 1977 to mark the 222nd anniversary of the Maison. Its monobloc case on a fitted bracelet features a porthole-style screw-held bezel providing resistance to wear in harsh environments. Its unique character has made this emblematic piece one of the most recognizable Vacheron Constantin models over the decades. The 222 also inspired a collection that is just as remarkable, the Overseas.

Enameling is a specialty of the Maison and has featured on a number of different models, one of the best known of which is dedicated to Mercator (1512-1594). This famous Flemish mathematician and geographer, whose real name was Gerhard Kremer, drew the first flat projections of the globe. Traveling is a recurrent theme at Vacheron Constantin, so the company decided to mark the 400th anniversary of the cartographer’s death by launching a collection in his name. The dial reproduces in enamel the maps of the hemispheres drawn by Mercator himself and the retrograde hands in the shape of a compass were devised especially for the occasion.

In 2007, Vacheron Constantin presented the Métiers d'Art collection Les Masques. A long journey through space and time, to the very roots of humanity. Twelve masks from the Barbier-Mueller collection were selected to be chased and engraved in gold, these miniature works sitting majestically at the center of the dial. This collection perfectly reflects the history of Vacheron Constantin and its spirit of openness to the world.

Revealed on September 17, 2015, on the Maison’s 260th anniversary, reference 57260 is the most complicated watch ever made. A full eight years were necessary to develop this exceptional piece, featuring, as its name indicates, 57 complications. A special order from a passionate and knowledgeable collector, reference 57260 once again demonstrates the expertise of the Atelier Cabinotiers division, carrying on the tradition of made to measure excellence. Reference 57260 won the Jury Prize at the Grand Prix de l'Horlogerie de Genève.

When worn, the Traditionnelle Twin Beat perpetual calendar movement beats at a high frequency that is aligned with modern active lifestyles, displaying the hours, minutes, date, month, leap year cycle and power reserve on its dial. A feat of technical prowess, this unique piece utilizes a patent-pending mechanical system that allows instantaneous switching between high-frequency Active mode (5Hz, 36,000 vph), and low-frequency Standby mode (1.2Hz, 8,640 vph). Both the Active and Standby balances are driven by the same mainspring barrel, which is the most efficient way of distributing energy and the only way to have a single power-reserve indication. When the watch is not being worn, it allows for an extended power reserve of at least 65 days.