Closed | Important watches – Saturday 16 May 2015

In the year 1755, the 24 years old Jean-Marc Vacheron started his watch making shop in Genève and by that founded what would become Vacheron Constantin. Jean-Marc’s ambition was already from the beginning to make exquisite high quality watches. The company is still active and is claimed to be the watch manufacturer that has been operational the longest time without interruption.

The business was inherited by Jean-Marc’s son Abraham and later on by the grandson Jaques-Barthélemy who changed the company name to Vacheron-Chossat in 1880. A couple of years later their first pocket watch with quarter repeater was made. Jaques-Barthélemy’s goal was to export the company’s products abroad and for that he needed financial aid. For that reason Francois Constantin stepped in as a partner in 1819 and the company name was changed again, this time to “Vacheron et Constantin” (they later got rid of the & in 1970). The watches produced at this time were of various quality and the simpler watches were signed “Abm Vacheron a Geneve”, “Chossat & Cie” or “Abraham Vacheron”.

1839 was an important milestone in the history of the company when horological engineer Georges-Auguste Leschot was hired. Leschot was one of the most important pioneers of the watchmaking industry and it was under his influence the company started producing new tools which made it possible to manufacture watch parts on a large scale. That made it possible to produce more watches, still of high quality, but at a lower price.

The company kept being inherited until 1877 when it moved over to become a public limited company. Towards the end of the 1800s the company struggled and didn’t sell very well, but it started looking better again at the turn of the century when they kept developing and followed the new trend which was wristwatches. From this time Vacheron Constantin made several complex watches with complications as calendar, split seconds, moon phase, power reserve indicator, tourbillion and many others, many times with several complications in one watch.

The company is today owned by the Richemont Group and one is still holding on to Jean-Marc’s idea to with great care produce high quality watches.