106th Auction

2022/5/21

Lot 120

Vacheron & Constantin

An elegant, early vintage Geneva wristwatch with auxiliary seconds and original box

Sold

estimated
4.5007.000 €
Price realized
6.300 €
specific features
Case
Steel, screw back, movement protection cap.
Dial
Silvered.
Movement
Manual.
Case no.292877
Cal.453
Diam.35 mm
Circa1941
Ctry.Switzerland


This timepiece is once again proof of Vacheron & Constantin’s exceptional competence in creating pieces of supreme elegance and reliability. The slender lugs, the bevelled bezel and the applied Arabic numerals harmonise perfectly with the lightly patinated dial, which also features beautifully balanced auxiliary seconds at "6" o'clock. The manual-wind calibre 453 is rhodium-plated and decorated with Geneva stripe pattern. The lever movement is of supreme quality and finely finished with a screw compensation balance with blued balance spring.
Watches with stainless steel cases and screw backs were always a rarity at the noble brands Vacheron & Constantin and Patek Philippe. This early model presented here does not yet have a reference number.
The present watch is described and illustrated in: J. Michael Mehltretter "Armbanduhren, Technik, Funktion und Bewertung", 2nd corrected edition, Stuttgart 2022, p. 256f.