Time Capsule: 270 Years of Vacheron Constantin Excellence

In England, King George II had five years remaining before his death would hand the throne to his grandson. Across the pond, the North American colonies of the British Empire were doing constant bloody battle with those of the French. James Cook had just joined the navy, and, 15 years later, on the other side of the planet, would land at Botany Bay. For those of a horological persuasion, though, the mid 18th century — and the year 1755 in particular — is relevant for the goings-on in Geneva. It was in that year, with the Age of Enlightenment reaching its denouement, that Jean-Marc Vacheron signed his first apprentice, effectively founding the company — making it now the oldest watch manufacturer in continuous operation — and creating the piece that set such a precedent for high-grade workmanship that it has defined the manufacture ever since: a silver watch with a gold escapement and balance bridge graced with intricate arabesques. 

The ‘standing on the shoulders of giants’ metaphor leaps to mind when we take the measure of the pioneers who built the manufacture from there. In 1785, we have Jean-Marc’s son, Abraham, taking over the workshops and steering Vacheron through the tempest of the French Revolution and the occupation of Geneva by the troops of the French Directory; a quarter of a century later we have his grandson Jacques-Barthélémi taking the helm and forging the relationship with François Constantin that gives the manufacture its current name as well as its motto to this day — ‘Do better if possible, which is always possible’ — written by François to Jacques-Barthélémi in an 1819 letter. 

To cast an eye, chronologically, along the timeline of masterpieces the house has created over its 27 decades in existence is to see this motto — not to mention, the Maltese Cross logo, introduced to represent the makers’ quest for accuracy in 1880 due to its resemblance to a mechanical part that regulates mainspring tension — honoured with perspicuity and passion. 

How does a manufacture pay homage to 270 years replete with technical, mechanical and aesthetic mastery? 

Beginning with their earliest quarter repeater watches in the early 19th century, it is a narrative dotted with innovative chiming watches, short-time measurement masterstrokes, astronomical functions, special displays, tourbillon regulators, dual-frequency mechanisms and innovations such as a portable high-frequency precision device, introduced in 1934, that enabled the calculation of 1/20ths of a second. Specific pieces of note have included: the first calendar timepiece recorded in the manufacture’s archives, in 1790; the manufacture’s first wristwatch for women, a piece (released in 1889) whose dial was encircled with diamonds and surrounded by a bezel that did the job of a winding crown; the pieces that, at the 1906 Milan World’s Fair, scooped the exhibition’s Grand Prix, including one in yellow gold, emblazoned with a thistle pattern in cloisonné enamel and a handcrafted guilloché pattern in its centre; the ultra-complicated pieces created for kings Fuad I and Farouk I of Egypt in 1929 and 1946, respectively; the Grand Complication pocket-watch created for the American industrialist James Ward Packard, part of a collection stored in a bank vault for 60 years until a Christie’s auction in 2011; Les Cabinotiers Armillary Tourbillon model developed in 2023 to grace the dashboard of one discerning Rolls-Royce client’s Amethyst Droptail; and the Berkley Grand Complication watch, created for the insurance big hitter William Robert Berkley and presented at Watches & Wonders 2024 — the most complicated watch in the world, thanks to a whopping 63 complications, including the first ever Chinese perpetual calendar. 

Along the way, other highlights have included the first world time watch with 31 time zones (1932); the first retrograde date display on the Don Pancho (1940); the thinnest ever (at the time) manually wound movement (1955); the Kallista, a 1979 piece carved out of a one-kilo gold ingot and set with 118 emerald-cut diamonds, taking the house’s craftspeople 6,000 hours; the world’s thinnest minute repeater (1992); the Métiers d’Art ‘Les Masques’, a 2007 collection arguably at the pinnacle of the maison’s commitment to bold artistry that features 12 gold ‘floating’ miniature mask sculptures based on ancient artefacts from African, Asian, Oceanic and American cultures; and the first Hebraic perpetual calendar (2015). 

How does a manufacture possibly pay homage to 270 years replete with technical, mechanical and aesthetic mastery? The answer is the timepiece gracing these pages: the Historiques 222 steel watch, a reiteration of yet another legendary creation in Vacheron Constantin’s history, first unveiled in 1977 to mark their 222nd anniversary. Designed by Jorg Hysek, a pioneering German-born designer who has also applied his creative smarts for Rolex, Cartier, Tiffany and Breguet, this model militated against the trend towards sports watches, popular with pilots, divers and explorers, riding the crest of the zeitgeist. It was a watch replete with elegant paradoxes: nicknamed the ‘Jumbo’, for its 37mm steel case, yet diminutively thin (just 7mm, thanks to an ultra-thin movement); and achingly elegant, with its blue dial, prominent fluted bezel, baton-type hands and straight hour markers and an 18k yellow-gold Maltese cross placed at five o’clock but also furnished with a robust appearance by an integrated bracelet with large, hexagonal central links screwed to the case middle. 

The original 222’s beguiling, retro elegance was recaptured in yellow gold in 2022, while this new 222 Historiques edition comes in steel.

In keeping with the ahead-of-the-curve wizardry so prevalent in Vacheron Constantin’s history, it benefits from a number of clever tweaks. Accuracy has been bolstered (it operates at a frequency of 4Hz, or 28,800 vibrations per hour, as opposed to the 2.75Hz on the original), and the new iteration boasts a 40-hour power reserve. Ergonomics have improved, thanks to a triple-blade clasp (instead of the twin-blade clasp of yore), with the visible pins now cleverly hidden. Aesthetics have also been ramped up, via the piece’s high- precision movement — including its oscillating weight, engraved with the original 222 logo and surrounded by a fluted motif reminiscent of the bezel — being visible through a transparent sapphire crystal pane now fitted to the caseback. Finally, legibility has been enhanced, the minutes now easier to read because the date window has been shifted towards the centre (where it doesn’t encroach on the minutes track). 

Keen-eyed beholders will also marvel at the vintage font of the ‘Automatic’ inscription, the Super-LumiNova coating of the coloured hands and hour-markers — which are off-white by day but lime-green by night, in keeping with the behaviour of the tritium used to illuminate watches of the past — as well as flourishes such as the vertical satin brushing on the table and bracelet and circular satin finishing on the bezel and polished hour markers. 

Here comes the Wagnerian drum roll, though: when it comes to how Vacheron Constantin celebrate their 270th year, this piece is merely the curtain-raiser. “Since the turn of the century, Vacheron Constantin has got into the habit of celebrating its anniversary with each new decade, giving it the opportunity to talk about its history, its values handed down through the centuries, as well as its approach to watchmaking that combines mechanical science with stylistic research,” the Chief Marketing Officer, Alexandra Vogler, says. 

“Each of these anniversaries is marked by exceptional timepieces perfectly illustrating the expertise cultivated since 1755. Its 250th anniversary, for example, saw the unveiling of the Tour de l’Île, a wristwatch of superlatives at the time, featuring an unprecedented combination of 16 grand complications. Ten years later came the turn of reference 57260 — the most complicated watch ever made at the time of its presentation, with its 57 functions — to take centre stage. In this sense, this 270th anniversary will also have its share of horological surprises and manufacturing savoir-faire undoubtedly worthy of previous anniversary models.” 

In keeping with the wizardry so prevalent in Vacheron’s history, this piece benefits from several clever tweaks. 

Brand superfans (and anyone who has spent time in the august surrounds of Club 1755, Vacheron Constantin’s private members’ club-style penthouse, which opened last summer in the heart of Mayfair, will tell you there are plenty of those) will be pleased to hear that there’s much more to come in numerically significant years ahead. “More than any other brand, Vacheron Constantin has an undeniable duty to remember,” Vogler says. “This duty has been perfectly fulfilled since 1755, as our archives are extremely rich: the multitude of written and photographic documents retrace our history in the context of the maison’s international expansion and bear witness to every detail of its production over the centuries. The collection also includes period tools and components, as well as a private collection of over 1,600 timepieces. This collection is a primer on watchmaking styles through the ages. An archivist’s sensibility — if it can be described as such — has been with the maison since Jean-Marc Vacheron founded his watchmaking workshop in Geneva in 1755, giving it inestimable depth.” 

In most contexts, grand statements about history being a fluid work in progress are a truism, but sometimes they feel like a timely reminder and prompt speculation in spades. 

Read the full story in Issue 98, available now.