WHL[VC Moderator]
4922
Vintage VC at VC Boutiques
May 28, 2013,19:27 PM
I recently wrote about bidding at auction:
vacheron.watchprosite.com
In that article I mentioned some of the potential problems and
pitfalls in dealing with purchasing Vacheron Constantin watches on the
secondary market. The two important issues regard the watch’s
authenticity and condition? While with auctions one is almost always
going to be looking at an authentic timepiece, the condition is not
always going to be good. Servicing a vintage Vacheron & Constantin
timepiece can be very expensive, sometimes costing more than the value
of the watch, and is also very time consuming, with a typical servicing
keeping the watch away from the owner for at least six months.
There
is one way to acquire a vintage Vacheron Constantin watch that I
neglected to mention: from Vacheron Constantin itself! The brand offers
a small collection of interesting timepieces for sale at the Geneva,
New York, and Shanghai boutiques. I would expect the new Paris boutique
to also join this group in having vintage timepieces available for
collectors. The advantage in purchasing through Vacheron Constantin
directly is that you need not worry about either authenticity or
condition. The brand will also warranty these watches for one year.
On
a recent visit to New York to see the 2013 novelties, I also took the
time to see the small collection of vintage timepieces available at the
boutique on Madison Avenue. I was impressed by all three models on
display.
I first looked at a 14K yellow gold pocket watch from
1909. Though considered yellow gold, the alloyed metals will fool you
into thinking the watch is 18K rose gold.
The
case is 48 mm in diameter. The white enamel dial has a classic look
with black Breguet numbers, railroad minute track, and small seconds at
6 o’clcock. The movement has a gilded finish, with a pleasantly stiff
winding feel.
It’s the only Vacheron Constantin watch you’ll find in a boutique for less than $10K!
The
two other vintage timepieces on display were exquisite examples of
chronographs, one being a reference 4178, with tear drop lugs,
and the other a reference 4072, with concave lugs.
Each
of these is in rose gold, which would have been more unusual in the
1940’s and 1950’s than today. Both have a 35 mm diameter. The case of
the 4178 is all high polish finish while the 4072 has satin finsihed
sides:
The manual winding movement (caliber 434) hids behind
solid case backs. I’ve always been partial to the 4178, which is the
iconic vintage Vacheron Constantin chronograph, and the inspiration for
the Historiques Chronograph that so many of the participants on this
forum own and adore.
For
those lucky enough to be near the select Vacheron Constantin boutiques
that offer vintage timepieces, I would recommend stopping in with some
regularity to see these watches in person. For those collectors further
afield, check in with the “Collector’s Corner” at
TheHourClub.com
to see the inventory. I would hope that in the future a collector could
inform Vacheron Constantin about particular pieces he would like to add
to his collection and then the brand would notify him when such pieces
were available in this safe and secure way.
Bill
VC Forum Moderator