Vacheron Constantin ‘Les Historiques’ 18k gold watch

Description

This very special watch comes from the private collection of Doc, well-known in the Vacheron Constantin international community and one of the foremost experts on Vacheron worldwide. Doc is an aficionado and collector and a regular contributor to the official Vacheron Constantin forum The Hour Lounge, of which Doc was one of the founders. If you go to the hour lounge site you will find countless posts and discussions by Doc. Please watch my auctions as I will be listing more of Doc's lovely Vacheron watches. Also, Doc will write a personal letter to the new owner of this lovely watch, which adds greatly to the provenance.

The important point about buying a watch from a serious collector such as Doc is that you are safe in the knowledge that the watch has been carefully chosen with an expert eye and looked after extremely carefully.

This beautiful Vacheron Constantin watch [Ref 31045] comes from the 'Les Historiques' range and is very rare. Dating from the 1990s, the watch is in near mint all original condition - a collectors dream. The only significant wear is a bit of scratching on the back where the case opens. This is your chance to own a very special premium collection standard watch.

You can feel confident buying from me - I offer a full refund if you are not entirely happy, as long as the watch is returned within seven days if UK customer, fourteen days if overseas, in the same condition. I also provide a full receipt, six months guarantee (long enough for you to assess the working order) and a professional insurance valuation. I also welcome you to come and view the watch at our central London address, in the New Bond Street area. I offer my customers online prices - well below value - with offline availability and service.

The watch features a gleaming solid 18ct gold case, a hand wound 20 jewel movement [Cal 1132.2], and a beautiful original, unrestored Guilloche dial. Attached is the original Vacheron alligator strap and original Vacheron 18ct gold buckle. The watch also comes complete with its original grey leather watch case.

A note about Vacheron Constantin. Vacheron made their first watch in 1755 and are history's oldest watch makers in continuous production since. They began making watches almost 100 years earlier than Patek Philippe. Along with Patek they are acknowledged to be the world's finest watchmaker.

My asking price is already fair for a watch that will only rise further in value. Such is the high quality of the watch, I will include a six month written guarantee on the movement, which is long enough for you to assess it. I also include a professional insurance valuation, in excess of my asking price. Also, I offer a full refund if you are not entirely happy, as long as the watch is returned within seven days if UK customer, twelve days if overseas, in the same condition. Please feel free to contact me to arrange to view the watch in central London.

The slim solid 18ct yellow gold case is in excellent condition, apart from some scratching on the reverse at the point where the case is opened. It is obviously very high quality, as you would expect from Vacheron. It measures 31.5mm wide, excluding the original winding crown x 38mm long, including the lugs. The case back closes correctly and the inside is correctly signed 'Vacheron Constantin', 'Swiss', '31045 659525' [the case reference number] with the appropriate Swiss hallmarks for solid 18ct gold.

The lovely original, unrestored Guilloche dial is in mint clean condition, with no significant wear and is signed 'Vacheron & Constantin', 'Geneve' and 'Swiss made'. It features applied Arabic numbers and baton hour markers. The original gold hands are also in mint condition, as is the original sapphire lens.

The hand wound Vacheron Constantin 20 jewel movement [Cal 1132.2] is excellent quality, as you would expect. It is centre jewelled and in mint condition. It is signed 'Vacheron & Constantin', 'Geneve', 'Swiss', 'Adjusted five [5] positions', 'Twenty [20] Jewels', 'Cal 1132.2' and the '788065' movement reference number. The movement has just been serviced by a master watchmaker and is in perfect working order, keeping excellent time. It winds incredibly smoothly, to the point where you cannot feel any winding 'grip'.

The watch is on its original Vacheron alligator strap, which has been use but still has plenty of life in it. Attache to the strap is the original Vacheron solid 18ct gold buckle, which is in excellent gleaming condition. The watch comes complete with its original Vacheron grey, leather watch case.

A simply superb watch from one of history's most famous watch makers; serious collection standard. Will provide an excellent financial investment as well as a possession to enjoy