Vacheron & Constantin Only Time with Small Seconds in Yellow Gold Coin Case on Leather Strap

An appealing and elegant Vacheron & Constantin only time from 1940, cased in a 32 mm 18k yellow gold "coin case" and fitted with a silver Arabic numeral dial with small seconds at six o'clock. The coin case, so named for its reeded edge that evokes the milled border of a gold coin, is one of the most distinctive and refined case forms produced by Swiss watchmakers during the 1930s and 1940s, and its association with Vacheron & Constantin places this example at the very top of the genre. Powered by a manual caliber and worn on a leather strap, this watch embodies the understated luxury that defines the finest dress watches of the pre-war and wartime period.

Key Specifications

Collector's Note

Vacheron & Constantin, founded in Geneva in 1755, is the oldest continuously operating watch manufacture in the world, and its pre-war production is among the most coveted by collectors of vintage dress watches. The coin case form of the 1940s represents a high point of the goldsmith's art applied to watchmaking: the reeded edge requires precise machining and finishing, and its visual effect on the wrist is one of quiet opulence rather than ostentation. The Arabic numeral dial, with its small seconds subdial, is a configuration of great legibility and classical elegance, entirely consistent with the aesthetic values of the Geneva manufacture at this period. This is a watch for the collector who understands that the most enduring luxury is expressed not through size or complication, but through the quality of materials, the refinement of form, and the pedigree of the maker.

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