Paying tribute to the art of Haute Couture and to Femininity
Contributing to the affirmation of a social status, the watch continued to attract female customers in the 19th century. Animating the great courts of Europe, these protagonists of worldly life played an essential role in the diffusion and consolidation of a House such as Vacheron Constantin. This vast noble network thus allowed our factory to acquire an international notoriety.
Browse the selection
Discovering this sample of our rich collection, you will understand how women were not only clients, but also actress participants in the process of creating Vacheron Constantin feminine watches.
Embrodery Inspiration
Vacheron Constantin pays tribute to the venetian art of lace-making.
Appearing in the XVᶱ century in Venice, this very expensive art craft, an exterior sign of wealth, was for a long time accomplished solely by the hands of lacemakers. They indeed developed a unique style which came to be known as “punto Burano”. The parallel is easy to draw with the techniques of craftsmanship and fine watchmaking.
The tradition of secret watches
Since it was typically regarded as impolite to be seen checking your watch in a social setting, ladies wanted their timepieces to be discreet. For this reason Vacheron Constantin offered ladies elegant ways to read to read time, such as hiding the dial behind an emerald.
This Belle Époque design was made in Paris, in collaboration with Ferdinand Verger, specialized in lady’s watches decoration.
Comfort tailored to the shape of the wrist
From a timepiece hidden in a pocket and whose aesthetics and sophistication were reserved for the wearer, the watch gradually evolved towards being an everyday accessory and potentially a piece of jewellery.
In the early 1910s Vacheron Constantin produced this sophisticated ”lozenge” watch shape, while demonstrating great freedom in terms of both execution and interpretation.
Art Deco Lacework
Art Deco was in vogue in the 1920s and is easily recognised by its majestic geometric lines, bright colours and rich gilding.
Free and creative, it allowed our designers to express themselves and to create timepieces of great elegance while emphasizing the distinctive signs of the style.
Afternoon parties and cocktail dresses
Attached to the end of a chain, as pendant or brooch, the watch always matches the ladies’ cloths.
Quarter repeater watches were highly sought-after by the wealthiest clients from the early XIX century. Vacheron Constantin was already then considered as a specialist in manufacturing chiming mechanisms, responding to the demand of complicated ladies’ watches from the earliest times.
A disrupting and highly creative era
During the Art Deco period a wide range of different extravagant shapes appeared. The end of World War II marked the advent of gold as the metal par excellence in watch design. Bracelets and cases were made of this precious material, whereas the war years had been all about deprivation and restrictions. Echoing the "New Look" fashion in Haute Couture, ladies’ watches came in large, opulent and even massive cuff-type models.
High jewelry wristwatches
At the end of the 1960s, a big shift occurred in fashion, art and style with the emergence of a new culture, in a quest of purity.
Hard stones and paved diamond dials were one of biggest trends of the 1970s. In order to let designers and gem setters fully express their creativity, a thin shock-protected patented movement named “Kif Flector” was developed by Vacheron Constantin. This calibre using a 90° Swiss lever escapement reduced significantly the diameter of the movement.
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