I · The Maker/II · The Object/III · The Record/IV · Acquisition
Room I · The Maker
Vacheron & Constantin, founded in Geneva in 1755, is one of the Holy Trinity of Swiss watchmaking alongside Patek Philippe and Audemars Piguet. The oldest continuously operating watch manufacturer in the world, the house is known for movements of exceptional finishing and for the Maltese cross that marks every piece. This 1945 example carries the triple signature, dial, movement and caseback, that confirms it left the Geneva workshops as a fully finished Vacheron product.
The Object
Geneva's oldest great house, signed three times over on the dial, the movement and the case back: an 18k gold Vacheron & Constantin of 1945 with a clean champagne dial, running well.
This watch dates to around 1945, the years just after the Second World War, when demand for fine Swiss dress watches was recovering across Europe and America and Vacheron was making pieces like this one: quiet, correct, and built to be kept. At 46.9mm in solid 18k gold it sits at the larger end of the mid-century gentleman's watch, substantial in the hand, with a plain polished case and nothing on the outside to announce itself.
The champagne lacquered dial uses the mixed layout the house favoured in this period: Arabic numerals at the quarters and faceted dart markers between them, applied in white metal so they read cool against the warm ground, with slim gold baton hands and a sub-seconds register at six. The surface is clean throughout, with no lifting at the chapter ring, and the hands are original.
The best detail is out of sight. Inside the caseback the gold is engine-turned in clous de Paris, sharp and unmarked, a finish spent on a surface only the owner ever sees. It is the kind of decision that tells you how the watch was made: as a complete, unified object, signed by the maker wherever a signature could go, not assembled from parts and named on the dial alone.
Eighty years on, it has come through with the case true, the dial clean and the movement running. It winds smoothly, sets without resistance and runs well. No box or papers accompany it, which is usual for a watch of this age; the watch itself is in unusually good order.
The marks, the movement and the condition are set out piece by piece in the drawers below; the three signatures are recorded in The Record.
Beneath the case
Open each drawer to look closer
Mark 1
18K / 0.750 Cartouche
Standard gold-purity cartouche confirming 18-karat (750/1000) fineness.
Mark 2
Gold Assay Mark
An official assay mark for 18-karat gold, struck alongside the fineness cartouche.
Mark 3
Diamond Mark '123'
Maker's or workshop responsibility mark in a diamond-shaped cartouche.
Mark 4
METAL 96
Stamp on the movement ring indicating the alloy specification of the case band.
Mark 5
- ACalibre 439/6CManual-wind movement with Côtes de Genève striped nickel finish and 17 jewels.
- BTemperature AdjustmentMovement adjusted to temperatures for improved accuracy across conditions.
- CVacheron & Constantin SignatureSigned on the movement bridge with the Maltese cross, confirming manufacture in the Geneva workshops.
- DMovement Serial 481044Serial number placing production in the mid-1940s output of the Vacheron & Constantin manufacture.
Case
Excellent
Very light age-consistent wear to the exterior, no dents, no significant scratches. Clous de Paris engine-turned interior sharp and unmarked.
Dial
Excellent
Champagne lacquered surface clean throughout, no chips, no spotting, no lifting at the chapter ring or numerals.
Movement
Excellent
Running well, winds smoothly, hands set without resistance.
Crystal
Excellent
Clear, no chips or cracks.
Crown
Excellent
Winds and sets smoothly in both positions.
46.88
This watch
25.75
€2 coin
A €2 coin is 25.75 mm. This case is more than two and a half times its area.
Room III · The Record
Triple-signed throughout with Maltese cross
The watch carries the Vacheron & Constantin signature in three places: the dial, the movement bridge, and the inner caseback, each accompanied by the Maltese cross emblem. The case is marked with the 18K/0.750 cartouche and an official gold assay mark, confirming it as solid 18-karat gold. The case serial 315996 and movement serial 481044 place production around 1945.
- Maker
- Vacheron & Constantin
- Model
- Open Face
- Case
- 18k yellow gold (0.750)
- Diameter
- 46.88mm
- Case serial
- 315996
- Dial
- Champagne lacquer, applied white-metal Arabic quarters and faceted dart markers, slim gold baton hands
- Movement
- Manual wind, 17 jewels, adjusted to temperatures
- Calibre
- 439/6C (Côtes de Genève striped nickel)
- Movement serial
- 481044
- Estimated date
- C.1945
- Country
- Switzerland
- Complications
- Sub-seconds
- Hallmarks
- 18K/0.750 cartouche, Swiss eagle head assay mark, diamond mark '123', METAL 96 on movement ring
- Signatures
- Vacheron & Constantin on dial, movement bridge, and inner case back (Maltese cross throughout)
The Estate Collection
Room IV · Acquisition
€9.500
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Vacheron & Constantin
€9.500
Enquiry
18ct Gold Open Face, c.1945
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