The aristocrat in watches, the world’s top brand, Vacheron Constantin is equivalent to the Bentley in cars.
Vacheron Constantin, one of the world’s most famous watch brands, was founded in Switzerland in 1755 Geneva is the oldest and earliest watch manufacturer in the world and one of the most famous watch factories in the world.
Vacheron Constantin has inherited the essence of traditional Swiss watchmaking without interruption. At the same time, it has also innovated many watchmaking technologies and made great contributions to the watchmaking industry.
Vachon Constantin launched many unforgettable designs throughout the 20th century. From simple and elegant styles to meticulously crafted complex designs, from daily wear styles to precious diamond watches, each model represents the pinnacle of Swiss high-end watchmaking craftsmanship and embodies Vacheron Constantin's excellence in the world's watch industry. status, and its pursuit of technology and aesthetics.
In December 2018, the World Brand Laboratory released the "Top 500 World Brands 2018" list, with Vacheron Constantin ranked 356th.
Founder
In 1755, the talented young watchmaker Jean-Marc Vacheron founded his first watchmaking business in the center of Geneva. room. Jean-Marc Vacheron is full of curiosity and enthusiasm for human culture, always maintains an open attitude, and continues to delve into watchmaking craftsmanship, thus becoming a very successful independent Geneva watchmaker - "Cabinotier" (Cabinotier). The timepieces created by Jean-Marc Vacheron made him famous internationally, and he continued to discover other potential watchmakers. In addition to his excellent watchmaking skills, he also taught them his perseverance in the pursuit of perfect art. .
In 1819, experienced businessman Fran?ois Constantin (Fran?ois Constantin) cooperated with the descendants of Jean-Marc Vacheron to establish the prestigious Vacheron Constantin. With his keen sense of the market and firm belief, Fran?ois Constantin has been traveling across Europe for decades, opening up new markets for exquisitely designed and high-quality timepieces.
In 1839, Vacheron Constantin invited Georges-Auguste Leschot to serve as the company's technical director, and since then he has rewritten the history of the company and the entire watch industry. Georges-Auguste Leschot was not only a mechanical genius, but also possessed extraordinary vision and rich imagination. He designed the pantograph, the first instrument that could repeatedly and mass-produce a variety of watch parts, bringing breakthrough reforms to the entire Swiss watchmaking industry. Because before this, watch movements were composed of parts made independently by human hands. The workmanship of each part was therefore different, resulting in movement parts that were not interchangeable with each other. This revolutionary invention by Georges-Auguste Leschot changed the entire watchmaking process, greatly shortened watchmaking time and improved watchmaking efficiency.
In 1880, Vacheron Constantin officially registered the "Maltese Cross" logo as the company's trademark. The "Maltese Cross" was originally a small part above the barrel cover in the movement. Its function is to prevent the barrel from being over-wound and make the timepiece operate more accurately. [2]
Exploring China
Beginning in 1800-1840
Among the many pioneers who took the lead in exploring the Chinese market, Jaquet-Droz and Leschot (about 1780 -90s) is undoubtedly the representative of the watch industry. They have offices in London and Geneva and ship their watches to China by shipping. The founders of Vacheron Constantin, Vacheron and his son, were very likely to use similar methods to conduct direct or indirect business dealings with China at that time.
It must be mentioned that Leschot was the father of the talented watchmaker Georges-Auguste Leschot. In 1839, the talented Georges-Auguste Leschot joined Vacheron Constantin and rewrote the history of Vacheron Constantin and the entire watch industry. He invented new watch manufacturing parts. Pioneering the standardization and mechanization of parts production. [3]
Although Vacheron Constantin’s documents do not record the exact time when the brand started trade with China, the famous watchmaking historian Alfred Chapuis published “Chinese Watches” in 1919. Watches"), it is clearly recorded that Vacheron Constantin's relationship with the Chinese market can be traced back to the 18th century.
1845-1846: The developing Chinese market
In 1845, a commercial cooperation between Vacheron Constantin and the Chinese market was recorded in history for the first time. At that time, Vacheron Constantin shipped a batch of sample watches to China. , for safety reasons, the company arranged for all sample watches to be mixed with products from a company called Neuchtel Watch Co., Ltd. for transportation. Fifty-nine days later, the company received a letter from Guangdong, China. In addition to stating the date of October 30, 1845, the letter also clearly stated that "there is currently no market for watches here." After receiving this news, the brand did not postpone its plan to explore the huge Chinese market.
In 1845, Vacheron Constantin’s workshop was established on Tour de l’Ile, adjacent to the brand’s global flagship store. In the new workshop, the production tools invented by Georges-Auguste Leschot greatly improved production efficiency and also improved the quality of the movement. A series of industrial machinery reforms not only increased production capacity, but also helped Vacheron Constantin extend its sales reach to China and India.
In the same year, Vacheron Constantin and Georges-Auguste Leschot won the Industrial Important Invention Award from the Arts Society. This award marked Vacheron Constantin as the first watch manufacturer with mechanical production accessories technology, making the brand famous. It has an absolute advantage over other competitors in the same industry. Georges-Auguste Lescho's invention greatly increased the production speed and effectively shortened the watch production cycle.
In 1846, Vacheron Constantin shipped 33 pairs of watches to Mr. Duval in Guangdong, with the purpose of assisting him in evaluating development opportunities in the local and Chinese potential watch markets. From the letter sent by Mr. Duval from Guangdong, we can learn about some traditional customs in China at that time, as well as some of his suggestions for watch design, such as adding Chinese numbers and time calculation methods. Today, watch information containing Chinese elements can be found in Vacheron Constantin’s historical database, including dial information based on Chinese ink paintings.
This is an excerpt from Mr. Duval’s personal letter, which explains his point of view, “Watches specially designed for the Chinese market will undoubtedly attract those who do not know Arabic or Roman numerals but have the purchasing power. Customers, such a design will also maximize the brand's market share in China and quickly promote sales. These watches not only have practical timing functions, but also are a kind of decoration that shows identity. In addition, we must also understand. Competition will appear immediately, but with Vacheron Constantin’s excellent and advanced watchmaking technology and continuously improving mechanical technology, the threat of competition to Vacheron Constantin will be extremely limited, because you are fully capable of controlling this ‘battle’ in watch design and decoration. On the other hand, Mr. Duval suggested engraving the brand's motto on the case - Cherish every moment in the past.
1904: Designing a watch for the Chinese Ambassador
On August 22, 1904, the Chinese Consulate in France sent a letter of notification to Vacheron Constantin, which mentioned that the Chinese Embassy in France When the Paris ambassador visited Geneva, he ordered two gold and enamel hunting watches from Vacheron Constantin: one with a portrait of Queen Marie-Antoine of France, the other with two swans.
Documentary records: Designing watches for emperors
In Vacheron Constantin’s documents from 1785 to 1938, Charles Constantin once wrote: “Although we can’t find any in our historical archives. There are records of trade with the East, but a Geneva scholar still remembers seeing Mr. Adrien Penard carrying a blue enamel diamond watch designed for the Emperor of China in 1865. ”
To Love. Xinjueluo Puren presented a watch
In 2003, the Richemont Group, to which Vacheron Constantin belongs, held the "Montres & Merveilles" exhibition at the Imperial Ancestral Temple of the Forbidden City in Beijing. Taking this opportunity, Vacheron Constantin paid tribute to the famous Chinese calligrapher , Mr. Pu Ren, the last representative of the Manchu Dynasty and the younger brother of Pu Yi, the last emperor of China, presented an ultra-thin watch. To express his gratitude to the brand, Mr. Pu Ren also signed Aisin Giorro. Pu Ren on Vacheron Constantin’s product catalog as a souvenir.
Historical Watches
1755 – This is a silver pocket watch made in 1755 and engraved with the brand founder’s signature “J: MC: Vacheron A GENEVE”. It has a movement of 35.60 mm in diameter. Directly connected to the case, it has an escapement consisting of a crown wheel, a cone wheel and a chain strap. The winding position of the key is between the three o'clock and four o'clock positions on the enamel dial, and the flip-up bezel and mirror must be opened when winding.
1821- This engraved gold pocket watch is engraved "Vacheron Chossat & Comp. A GENEVE" and is in the style of the French Empire. The movement is equipped with an escape wheel that is still experimental, and the bridges are placed in accordance with the principles established by Breguet. Pressing the hanging ring at twelve o'clock will cause the pocket watch to chime the hours and quarter-hours. Enamel dial, serpentine blued steel hands.
1831- This watch is very typical of the decorative taste of the time. The gold case is engraved with exquisite hand-made patterns, and the back of the case is painted with colorful enamel glaze. The movement is equipped with a crown wheel escapement and a balance wheel bridge. The bridge is decorated with unique VACHERON cutout letters. Enamel dial, yellow gold hands.
1906- The minute repeater function control button of the pocket watch is located at the three o'clock position of the gold case. This device is connected to the movement, which is equipped with a lever escapement, a screw balance wheel and a Breguet hairspring. All movement operations can be clearly seen through the transparent sapphire crystal dial. The pocket watch also has an automatic calendar function to display the date and week, but it needs to be manually adjusted to February 29 every four years in a leap year.
1914- This oval gold case watch is equipped with an oval movement. The movement is equipped with a linear escapement and a Breguet hairspring balance wheel. The flip-up bezel and dial are decorated with enamel flowers, and the dial is decorated with 12 Arabic numerals.
1935- The minute repeater sound function control button is placed on the left side of the gold case. The outer ring of the smooth and silky dial is decorated with 12 enamel Arabic numerals. The dial also features a seconds sub-dial and blue steel hands. Manual winding movement with 29 ruby ??bearings, engraved with gold-plated decoration and C?tes de Genève pattern. The movement has a linear lever escapement and a screw-type alloy balance wheel equipped with a Breguet hairspring. Winding and time adjustment are started with the crown.
1945- The pink gold case back is engraved with a radiant decorative pattern starting from a hollow window with a diameter of three swings of the tourbillon. The complex and exquisite mechanical device keeps the pocket watch accurate. The rhodium-plated movement is set with 19 ruby ??bearings and has a diameter of 47 mm. It is specially designed to participate in the observatory competition. The dial is also made of pink gold, with solid gold Roman numerals and hour, minute and second hands.
1948- The strap of the watch is tightly attached to the woman's wrist by wrapping three times around it. Through unique jewelry craftsmanship, it forms a retractable strap. The carefully decorated movement is equipped with a side-mounted escapement. Gold numerals and star moments, coupled with gold hands, make the dial more lively and lively.
Special customization service for loft craftsmen
Since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin has been providing customized services to customers. According to customer needs, watchmakers painstakingly design the appearance of timepieces and select Features and Components. At that time, in order to take full advantage of the best light of the midday sun, craftsmen liked to locate their studios on the top floors of buildings. These were the early cabinets, and the craftsmen inside were called cabiniers.
Vacheron Constantin's "Special Customization Service for Loft Craftsmen" is to realize the customer's dream of owning the ultimate quality watch and design and produce unique works according to the customer's requirements. Customized watches can be based on existing models or completely innovative. According to personal wishes, customers can determine the movement frequency and design theme of special customized products in advance. Depending on the complexity of the project, it usually takes at least eight months and sometimes several years to complete the work.
This specially customized watch by the loft craftsman named "Philosophia" perfectly combines the theme of top watchmaking craftsmanship and approximate time display. The concept behind it comes from the fact that people do not need to always grasp the most precise time. hypothesis. Based on a watch from the Patrimony heritage series, only one hour hand is designed in the center, using a 24-hour display. If you need to know the exact time, just turn the minute repeater button.
The name of this "Vladimir" watch specially customized by the attic craftsmen comes from the Slavic language, which means "Lord of Peace". This pinnacle watch is one of the most complex watches in the world. The double-sided dial has 17 complex functions, including tourbillon, minute repeater, perpetual calendar display and sunrise and sunset times. Extraordinary mechanical structure, matched with a tailor-made watch case, the side of the case is engraved with the Chinese zodiac pattern in relief