107th Auction

2022/11/19

Lot 361

Vacheron & Constantin

An extremely rare, fine and attractive vintage Geneva wristwatch with full calendar, moon phase and striking claw lugs

Sold

estimated
10.00015.000 €
Price realized
6.800 €
specific features
Case
18 K pink gold, push back.
Dial
Silvered, two windows with red weekday and month display in Spanish writing.
Movement
Manual.
Case no.328673
Ref.4240
Cal.P485
Diam.35 mm
Circa1949
Ctry.Switzerland


The present example has a pink gold, beautifully fluted case and magnificent claw lugs, that, when viewed from the side, curve dramatically downwards to look like fangs. The day of the week and month in Spanish are displayed through two apertures and in red lettering on the upper part of the beautifully patinated, champagne-coloured dial, while the date is indicated on the rim by a central, blued hand with a red tip.
The timepiece shows signs of wear due to its age, but is in beautiful authentic condition. Very rarely offered on the international watch market, it is an absolute treat for the discerning collector.


Vacheron & Constantin’s reference 4240 and its sister reference 4241 were produced in extremely small numbers. They belong to the very few vintage wristwatches made by Vacheron & Constantin that feature a triple calendar and were available with or without moon phase. This particular type of watch came in several case and dial variants.
Due to the cult status achieved by this reference, Vacheron Constantin reissued the model in 2017 – again in two versions that came with and without moon phase display.