Watchmaking: Vacheron Constantin celebrates its 270th anniversary with a highly anticipated launch

270 years of uninterrupted history. This is not commonplace. Even more so in watchmaking. This is the canonical age of Vacheron Constantin, the oldest manufacturer in activity since its creation. To kick off the festivities, it is reissuing the emblematic Historiques 222. It is one of collectors’ favorite watches, “notably because its initial production at the end of the 1970s was extremely limited,” explains Christian Selmoni, style director. and heritage. And that’s without mentioning its instantly recognizable design, with its flat case design and imposing fluted bezel adorned with a Maltese cross at 5 o’clock. Result: a flood of requests were recorded on the first day of its presentation to the public, only at the Geneva boutique!

In 2022, it reappeared in yellow gold. Following strong customer demand, it is back in 37mm, but in steel. Enhanced with a beautiful gray blue dial, stamped with the highly prized Hallmark of Geneva and equipped with many technical improvements, it continues to shine with the finesse of its case. At the time of its launch in 1977, on the occasion of the 222nd anniversary of the house, this sports model already stood out from the others by its elegance, due in particular to its extra-thin caliber. It was, at the time, the smallest full-rotor automatic movement in the world. As for the 270 emblem^e anniversary, it is of course present on the back of the sapphire crystal case.

For the love of transmission

It was the signing of a contract that truly marked the birth of the factory in 1755. Jean-Marc Vacheron was then just 24 years old. He has just hired an apprentice. The same year, he released his first pocket watch. It is made of silver, with finely crafted gold hands. Once opened, it reveals a high-quality movement partly decorated with arabesques. The tone is set. Technical and aesthetic excellence will forever be inseparable from the identity of the house. The transmission of knowledge and know-how too.

At that time, Geneva was a prosperous city where life was good. The watch industry employs more than a fifth of the population. And its great cultural wealth attracts great minds. The manufacture did not become Vacheron and Constantin until 1819, when Jacques-Barthélémi Vacheron, grandson of the founder, met businessman François Constantin. It is to the latter that the brand owes its motto: “Do better if possible, which is always possible.” The phrase appears in a letter he sent to his brand new partner from Turin.

Records et complications

If the Maltese cross, emblem of the house since 1880, is inspired by the shape of a component of the first watch movements intended for the constant improvement of the spring, it is because, for Vacheron Constantin, chronometric precision is a absolute must. No wonder so many innovations and world records are on its books.

It is to her that we owe this “watchmaking” pantograph which, in 1839, opened the way to the standardization and interchangeability of components intended for watches equipped with the same caliber. History also owes some of its greatest watchmaking complications to her. As a reminder, a watch is said to be “complicated” as soon as a function is added to the hours and minutes indication. These range from chiming watches, short time measuring mechanisms and astronomical functions to special displays and tourbillon regulators. Many are also sublimated thanks to artistic crafts, another specialty of the house.

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Sylvie Lefebvre-Guerreiro has been editor-in-chief of Tribune des Arts magazine since 2021. Journalist with the same title since January 2000, she specializes in art, watchmaking and jewelry.More info

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