Next year (2005), Vacheron Constantin celebrates its 250 th anniversary. Such an achievement is the result of the commitment and gifted creativity of generations of talented watchmakers and businessmen. To mark this exceptional event, Antiquorum will be holding a thematic auction entitled 'The Quarter Millennium of Vacheron Constantin' on 3 April 2005, in Geneva.

The founding of a dynasty

As with many successful businesses, Vacheron Constantin started from very humble beginnings. Born in 1731, in Geneva, Jean-Marc Vacheron was the youngest of the five sons of an immigrant master weaver. Jean-Marc's ambition was to become a master watchmaker, but at the time opportunities were not freely available to 'natives' (emigrant children, born in Geneva). But Jean-Marc was both a gifted craftsman and determined. Perhaps it was this determination and exceptional talent as a watchmaker that destined him to become the founder of a tradition that has touched the hearts of so many since.

The 18 th century was a period of great discoveries, discoveries that left the traditional view of the universe in ruins. In cities throughout Europe, great fortunes were being made, as merchants began to lose their hold on the economy. By the 1750s, the 'Age of Enlightenment' was reaching its pinnacle. The demand for greater information inevitably expanded potential markets. By 1755, the Genevese had become the unchallenged masters of horology and their reputation quickly spread far and wide.

François Constantin arrives on the scene

In the early 1800s, under the direction of the entrepreneurial Jaques-Barthelemy Vacheron, the only son of Abraham Vacheron and Anne-Elizabeth Girod, the company's interests expanded and connections with the work of Breguet and Lepine were formed. By 1814, Jaques-Barthelemy realized that he could not oversee the company's day-to-day operations and also travel abroad selling its products. He decided he needed a partner if the company was to survive. In 1819, François Constantin became a partner in the company and responsible for its sales. It was François Constantin who coined the phrase, which remains the motto of the company today, "Do better if possible, and it is always possible."

By all accounts François Constantin was a flamboyant character. He relished his work as Vacheron & Constantin's representative, travelling around the world selling the company's products and opening up new markets. Even so, François Constantin was an astute and shrewd businessman who shared Vacheron's ideals of perfection. He was a convincing salesman and excellent ambassador for the company, reputedly being able to open previously impenetrable markets, while his administrative and organizational skills created a sound sale's network for the company. Jaques-Barthelemy Vacheron once said of him, "We bow to your talents, convinced that when you bring the full measure of your eloquence to bear - nothing can resist you!"

The genius of Leschot

In 1839, Vacheron & Constantin hired Georges-Auguste Leschot - and the triumvirate of genius, on which the foundation of Vacheron Constantin was built, was complete - Jean-Marc Vacheron - François Constantin - Georges-Auguste Leschot.

Exceptionally inventive and extremely skilled, Leschot was devoted to the advancement of watchmaking. In less than two years, Leschot conceived and built a range of exclusive machines for Vacheron & Constantin that were able to manufacture watch parts mechanically, to unheard of levels of precision. It was these machines that won Leschot the Societé des Arts' prize for the most significant industrial discovery of the period. The company's hopes had become reality. Being the first to mechanize production, Vacheron & Constantin had a head start over their rivals, and, since the machined parts were both accurate and interchangeable, their production, while also being very competitively priced, quickly exceeded that of their competitors'. Throughout, Leschot and Vacheron insisted that every element still be worked on and finished by hand. This meant that the quality of finish of Vacheron & Constantin pieces was exceptional. An attention to detail that has continued to the present day.

Following François Constantin's death in 1854 and Jaques-Barthelemy's nine years later, a series of Vacheron and Constantin heirs continued the running of the company, producing spectacularly complicated pocket watches and many superbly beautiful wristwatches. It was during this period that links with Verger in Paris were formed - a partnership that resulted in some extremely beautiful pieces many of which were made for the grand jewellery Houses of the world.

The dynasty continues

During World War II the company experienced difficult times and Georges Ketterer acquired a major shareholding. Under Ketterer's direction the company blossomed and many of its most well known watches were produced. Georges Ketterer died in 1987 and the company changed hands again. The running of the company was placed in the hands of Claude-Daniel Proellochs, who, in 1996, when the company was bought by the Richemont Group (at that time called the Vendôme Group), agreed to remain as CEO, a responsibility he still holds today - continuing, a quarter of a millennium later, the dynasty of Jean-Marc Vacheron, producing some of the most lovingly created, preciously guarded, and most sought-after timepieces in the world.