Half curiosity, half collector’s resource, I bought these “dealer cards” on eBay in 2021. I thought they’d be both lovely and useful for others once digitized. These cards present the watches roughly life size, the cards uncannily similar in size and shape to an iPhone. Vacheron Constantin sent these to dealers so that they could… Read more »
Why Are Vintage Vacheron Constantin Dress Watches Undervalued? Because Vacheron Constantin never had a smash hit dress watch. But why didn’t Vacheron Constantin have a hit, and why do so many collectors focus on hit watches? Fewer Hits Than The Grateful Dead Consider early wrist watch icons like the Cartier Tank or the Patek Philippe Calatrava,… Read more »
The Skinny 37mm In-house Elite 670 auto winding movement $7000 Three Years Before The Royal Oak I asked to review this watch because it looked different and funky. That was the point of the original A3642 released in 1969, purportedly as a rally cry against the ascendant, yet aesthetically uninspired, electronic quartz watches wreaking havoc… Read more »
Is there any sense in spending $375 on a watch strap? My Vacheron Constantin ref. 99932-P has an atypical lug-span of 17.62mm, and those lugs are spindly little protrusions that require an exact fit. This Vacheron is also a fine platinum dress watch, so a fine alligator strap was certainly in order. Jean Rousseau was… Read more »
In 1932 Patek Philippe released the very simple, unadorned Calatrava wrist watch. Until the early 21st century, the word Calatrava only referred to that specific model from that specific brand. Today, however, you will find that journalists, chatty enthusiasts and especially vintage watch dealers use Calatrava to indicate almost any time-only or time-and-date dress watch… Read more »
The Skinny 42.3 mm Stainless steel case and bracelet 120m water resistance Movement – manually wound Calibre HMC-812 with perpetual calendar functions and 168 hours of power reserve Price – $54,900 PerpCals, Generally Speaking For many watch collectors, a perpetual calendar is a final destination. I know this personally, but also ethnographically as I have… Read more »
Allen explores his new directions for his own budding collection of Vacheron Constantin watches, centering on a near disaster of a purchase due to his unbridled impetuousness. Two friends saved him from repeating past mistakes. Related Articles