In “Tears of Joy,” a single off Rick Ross‘ new album, he raps, “Vacheron on my wrist, a year ago I didn’t know the bitches exist.”  Although Rick just discovered his new arm candy (whose name he drops again in “Live Fast, Die Young”), Vacheron Constantin is actually a veteran in the game of luxurious timepieces. In fact, the Swiss brand is the oldest watch manufacturer in the world.

The company was founded back in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron, who in 1770, created the first “complication”—a reference to any feature beyond the simple display of hours, minutes, and seconds in a timepiece. He went on to design the first engine-turned dials nine year later.  With his business expanding, Jean-Marc brought on his first associate in 1819, François Constantin, who opened new markets globally.

The two men and their future team went on to create complex and innovative timepieces, surviving the ups and downs of The Great Depression and World War II. The company’s motto to this day is “Do better if possible, and that is always possible.”

Below are a few highlights from this brand’s extensive history—see what all the hype is about:

Kallista: One of the most expensive wristwatches ever made. It’s worth approximately $11 million, with 118 emerald-cut diamonds. It took about 6,000 hours for the watch masters to make, and about 20 months for jewelers to enrich the watch.

Quai de l’Ile: A totally customizable watch offering nearly 400 combinations of metals and dials. It also contains high-security features which make it extremely difficult to fake. The watch takes approximately three months to create and costs about $60,000.

Patrimony: The world’s thinnest watch. The average price we see for this piece is $15,000, depending on how much one wishes to bling it out!

Source: Wikipedia, Vacheron Constantin

Bookmark to: