Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin is a top of the range Swiss watch manufacturer belonging to the Richemont group since 1996.

The brand is established in almost 80 countries around the world. Vacheron Constantin has been founded in Geneva in Switzerland in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron. This makes of it the most ancient watch house in the world with an uninterrupted history. In 1770, its company creates the first watch complication, and nine months later it conceives the first shifted-engines dials.

The son of Jean-Marc Vacheron, Abraham, was in charge of the family businesses in 1785. Later in 1810, the head of the company becomes the son of the founder, Jacques-Barthélemy. He was the first to launch the exports towards France and Italy.

Later, Jacques-Barthélemy realized that he could not manage alone his businesses. In order to travel overseas and sell the products of the company, he needed a partner. Consequently, in 1819, François Constantin became the partner of Vacheron. The company continued its activity under the name of Vacheron & Constantin ».

François Constantin has travelled around the world and has launched watches on the market. He thus helped the company to open markets. The main market was North America.

In 1877, « Vacheron & Constantin, Manufacturers Genève » has become the official name of the company. In 1880, Vacheron & Constantin began to use its symbol, which is kept until now, the Maltese cross.

The first boutique in Geneva has been opened by Vacheron & Constantin in 1906. This store may be seen today on the Quai de l’Ile. During the Great Depression, Vacheron & Constantin found themselves in a difficult situation and the only one to give back hope was Charles Constantin. He became the head of the company in 1936 and it was the first time since 1880 that a representative of the Constantin family received the position of chairman of Vacheron & Constantin.

During the Second World War, the sales of the company dropped significantly.

However, Vacheron & Constantin was able to come back on the watch market thanks to Georges Ketterer. In 1970, the « & » has been withdrawn from Vacheron & Constantin.

The Kallista watch, created in 1979, was at the time one of the most expensive wristwatches, with an initial price of 5 million American dollars. Today, however the watch is estimated to be about 11 million of American dollars. Kallista has had 118 diamonds cut by emerald.

When Georges Ketterer passed away in 1987, Vacheron Constantin changed hands. However, its sales increased and today the company produces about 20000 watches each year. In 1996, the full share capital of the company has been acquired by the Richemont Group.

A sports line of the 21st century of the new Vacheron Constantin watch is called Overseas and has been presented in 2003. In 2003, a new collection of Vacheron Constantin has been launched. The name of the collection is Egérie and it is the first to include women’s watches.

The Richemont Group has appointed, in 2005, Juan Carlos Torres as

In 2005, the watch Tour de l’Ile is created to celebrate the anniversary of the 250 years of Vacheron Constantin. The watch includes 834 parts and 16 watch complications.