Switzerland’s longest-running horloger can put everything down to sheer multifaceted genius, and has done for three decades shy of three whole centuries –without a break in production, a brand reboot, nor one single rebrand.
A 271 years of uninterrupted production and profit doesn’t happen because of heritage and nostalgia; it comes from constant preparation for your 261st year, then your 262nd, 263rd… It’s why the salmon-pink masterpiece we showcased back in April is the perfect embodiment of its maker, Vacheron Constantin, despite its deceptive simplicity.
And it’s why you need to bear witness to a capsule curation like no other on Bond Street, which opens today: the ‘Explore All Ways Possible’ exhibition at VC’s Mayfair boutique.
“American 21” wristwatch,18K yellow gold, cushion-shaped case, white enamel dial, crown at 11 o'clock, Calibre RA 11’’’62, manual movement, 1921
The overarching vibe of any Vacheron timepiece is more Latin – artistic, even – than its handful of contemporaries (Patek Philippe and Jaeger-LeCoultre et al. considered more ‘classical’, let’s say). Professing such élan was Jean-Marc Vacheron himself, who opened his atelier on an island in Geneva’s ‘cité’ in 1755 – still there, as well as down the road, in – by contrast – a vast, gleaming crash-landed spaceship of a ‘manufacture’.
“Shutter” wristwatch,18K yellow gold, silvered grained dial, Calibre 9’’’94 VNP, manual movement, 1929
J-M V was something of a Renaissance man, interested in literature, history and philosophy – plus, in a perfect horological storm, fascinated by the rising potential of micro-mechanics in astronomy, chronometry and plain-old connoisseurial grandstanding. Hence the ‘Explore’ theme of this historic showcase.
Wristwatch,18K yellow gold, silvered dial, Calibre 11’’’ 435/3C, manual movement, 1951
They were all passions inherited by Jean-Marc’s son Abraham and grandson Jacques-Barthélemy, ensuring their ornately decorated pocket watches made it into the right hands, throughout the era’s emerging, further-flung markets.
"Chronomètre Royal" wristwatch, 18K yellow gold, silvered dial, Calibre 12’’’1/2- 1008, manual movement, 1953
Guiding motto, “Do better if possible and that is always possible” – the other inspiration behind the London exhibition’s title – first appeared in a letter François Vacheron wrote to Jacques-Barthélémy Vacheron – the former a hotshot marketeer brought aboard in 1819, the latter proving particularly clever navigating the family firm through some choppy waters. The French Revolution for a start, then France’s annexation of Geneva itself.
Overseas II wristwatch, stainless steel, blue dial, Calibre 11’’’ ½ - 1226, self-winding, 2015
How did the family firm stay afloat, cut off from so many of its elite clients? A temporary diversification into textiles, for one. And cherry brandy.
Vacheron Constantin may not have been the first with any of horology’s major ‘complications’, but, like Apple – famous for keeping its powder dry before knowing when to conquer the emerging worlds of personal computers, MP3 players or smartphones – it has applied its experience to being ‘the best’. And when you go down to VC’s UK flagship this week, this'll be proved positive and then some, through a mere eight masterpiece timepieces.
Hunting-case pocket watch, 18K yellow gold, White enamel dial, decorated case Calibre RA 20’’’ 75 - manual movement, 1904
Explore All Ways Possible is geographical, technical, and cultural in scope. An openness to the world that has characterised Vacheron; the world's fairs participated; the trade voyages of François Constantin at the beginning of the 19th century; all fostering its creativity in micro-mechanics, their components’ hand-finished patterns, plus of course the decorative arts painted, enamelled or engraved on the outside.
Pocket watch,18K yellow gold, Chinese lacquer decoration, Calibre RA 16’’’ 162 Manual movement, 1923
The robust Overseas models for the North, say, or the Art Deco pieces adorned with motifs inspired by Far Eastern cultures for the East. The South, in particular, fuelled by the need for watches that could withstand humidity and temperature variations. While the Roaring Twenties in the West inspired Wall Street showboaters like the wonkily skewed cushion case of the American 1921.
Pocket watch, 18K yellow gold, ultra-thin, skeleton, diamond-paved bezel and bow, Harlequin-style mother-of-pearl dial, Calibre 9’’’ 1003 SQ, manual movement, 1978
Of course, the new watches dotting the vitrines of 37 Old Bond Street are treasures in their own right. But to see them in context of 271 years’ progress is to truly understand the baked-in specialness of Swiss mechanical watchmaking.
Go, and revel.
The ‘Explore All Ways Possible’ heritage exhibition is free to view at 37 Old Bond St from 20th July till 1st August; vacheronconstantin.com
