Vacheron Constantin

Who are Vacheron Constantin?

Vacheron Constantin is a Swiss watchmaker in Geneva, founded in 1755 and owned since 1996 by the Swiss luxury group Richemont. Richemont describes it as the world’s longest-standing watch manufacture in continuous production (Richemont). This page covers its history, collections and ownership, then what to check when buying a pre-owned Vacheron Constantin in the UK.

The company makes only watches (Richemont), from steel sports models to one-off pieces made to order. Its manufacture and head office are in Plan-les-Ouates, on the edge of Geneva, and it also has workshops in the Vallée de Joux (Wikipedia). Richemont lists a network of 122 Vacheron Constantin stores (Richemont). Second-hand, you are most likely to see the Overseas, Patrimony, Traditionnelle and Historiques collections, plus older watches from before the current names existed.

The history of Vacheron Constantin

Vacheron Constantin’s history runs from a single Geneva watchmaker taking on an apprentice in 1755 to a manufacture owned by Richemont. The key dates are the founding contract (1755), the partnership with François Constantin (1819), the 222 (1977), the Richemont purchase and the Overseas (1996), and the move to Plan-les-Ouates (2004).

The 1755 contract. For many years the company dated itself to 1785, when Abraham Vacheron, son of the founder, is believed to have set up in business. Research in the State of Geneva’s archives found an apprenticeship contract, certified by a notary and signed on 17 September 1755, in which Jean-Marc Vacheron took on his first apprentice, Esaïe Jean François Hetier. That document moved the founding date back thirty years (WorldTempus).

Vacheron and Constantin. Abraham’s son, Jacques-Barthélemy Vacheron, handed the commercial side of the firm to a friend, François Constantin, and the new business was established on 1 April 1819 (WorldTempus). The company’s motto, “Do better if possible, and that is always possible”, is traced to a letter from Constantin to Vacheron dated 5 July 1819 (Wikipedia). In 1833 the firm hired Georges-Auguste Leschot to run production; Wikipedia credits him with standardising movements into calibres.

Late nineteenth century. After François Constantin died in 1854 and Jacques-Barthélemy Vacheron in 1863, the company passed to heirs. It adopted the Maltese cross as its emblem in 1880, a shape taken from a part of the mainspring barrel, and became a joint-stock company in 1887 (Wikipedia). In 1886 the Republic and Canton of Geneva introduced the Poinçon de Genève, the hallmark the company still uses (Poinçon de Genève).

The Ketterer years. The Great Depression hit the company hard. In 1940 Georges Ketterer bought a majority of the shares from Charles Constantin, and his son Jacques ran the company after Georges died in 1969. The firm took the name Vacheron Constantin, without the ampersand, in 1970 (Wikipedia).

The 1970s and after. In 1977, during the quartz crisis, the company introduced the 222, an integrated-bracelet sports watch designed by Jorg Hysek (Wikipedia). After Jacques Ketterer died in 1987, Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani became the majority shareholder (Wikipedia). The Historiques collection was announced in 1989 (Gear Patrol).

Under Richemont. In 1996 Vendôme, Richemont’s luxury goods arm, acquired Vacheron Constantin (Richemont). The same year the Overseas sports collection was launched (Wikipedia). The company opened its manufacture and head office in Plan-les-Ouates in 2004 and introduced the Patrimony the same year (Wikipedia). For its 260th anniversary in 2015 it revealed Reference 57260, a pocket watch with 57 complications made for a client (Wikipedia). It launched a Certified Pre-Owned programme in November 2024 (SJX Watches), and in 2025 marked its 270th anniversary by showing La Quête du Temps, an automaton clock with 23 complications and 6,293 components, at the Louvre (Richemont Annual Report 2026).

What is Vacheron Constantin known for?

Vacheron Constantin is known for more than 270 years of continuous watchmaking, for using the Hallmark of Geneva, for very complicated watches made to order, and for decorative crafts such as enamelling and engraving. The details below are each sourced.

The Hallmark of Geneva. The Poinçon de Genève is a voluntary certificate run on behalf of the State of Geneva by TIMELAB, the Geneva Laboratory of Horology and Microengineering. It is open to watches made and assembled in the canton of Geneva and covers provenance, finishing and reliability (Poinçon de Genève). Since 2012 the rules have covered the finished watch, not only the movement (Monochrome Watches). The accuracy test, for example, checks that a cased watch varies by no more than one minute over seven days (Poinçon de Genève). Monochrome Watches reported in 2013 that 70 per cent of Vacheron Constantin’s production carried the hallmark. Our guide to COSC certification explains how a different, Swiss-wide accuracy test works.

Complicated watches to order. Through its Les Cabinotiers department, the company makes unique and bespoke watches (Richemont). Reference 57260 of 2015 had 57 complications, and in 2024 the company unveiled the Berkley Grand Complication, a pocket watch with 63 (Wikipedia).

Decorative crafts. Vacheron Constantin keeps in-house skills in engraving, enamelling, gem-setting and guilloché (Richemont), and shows them in the Métiers d’Art collection.

Thin movements. Wikipedia credits the company with a manual-winding Calibre 1003 in 1955 and a thin minute-repeater, Calibre 1755, in 1992. For 2026, Richemont reports that the company is introducing a new ultra-thin movement made in-house and carrying the Hallmark of Geneva (Richemont Annual Report 2026). Our guide to in-house and outsourced movements explains why buyers ask about this.

Which Vacheron Constantin collections are there?

Vacheron Constantin’s range has a sports collection (Overseas), dress collections (Patrimony, Traditionnelle), reissues (Historiques, including the 222), an entry collection (Fiftysix), a women’s collection (Égérie), decorative watches (Métiers d’Art), made-to-order pieces (Les Cabinotiers) and restored vintage watches (Les Collectionneurs).

The collections table gives a one-line description of each. A few points help when you are reading listings:

• Overseas and 222. The Overseas descends from the 1977 222 (Wikipedia). The 222 itself returned as a reissue in the Historiques collection, and a steel version was added in 2025 (Richemont Annual Report 2026). They are different watches.
• Older Overseas models. The Overseas was redesigned in 2004 and again in 2016 (Wikipedia). Check which generation a listing refers to.
• Les Collectionneurs. These are vintage Vacheron Constantin watches the company has restored and certified; practically all are over 40 years old (SJX Watches). They are sold through selected Vacheron Constantin boutiques (SJX Watches). The first selling exhibition, of 18 watches dating from 1923 to 1969, was held at the London boutique on Bond Street in June 2018 (WorldTempus).

Who owns Vacheron Constantin?

Vacheron Constantin is owned by Compagnie Financière Richemont SA, a Swiss luxury goods group listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Richemont’s luxury arm, Vendôme, bought the company in 1996, and Richemont groups it with its Specialist Watchmakers alongside A. Lange & Söhne, IWC Schaffhausen, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Panerai, Piaget and Roger Dubuis.

Richemont was founded by Johann Rupert in 1988 (Richemont). It created Vendôme Luxury Group in 1993 to hold its luxury businesses, Vendôme bought Vacheron Constantin in 1996, and in 1998 Richemont bought out Vendôme’s minority shareholders to own all of its luxury interests (Richemont). Before that, the company had been controlled by Sheikh Ahmed Zaki Yamani from 1987, and by the Ketterer family from 1940 (Wikipedia).

Richemont’s A shares are listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange and included in the Swiss Market Index, with a secondary listing in Johannesburg (Richemont). Richemont reports its results by business area, and Vacheron Constantin sits within Specialist Watchmakers (Richemont Annual Report 2026). The chief executive of Vacheron Constantin is Laurent Perves (Richemont).

Richemont also owns Watchfinder & Co., a pre-owned watch specialist founded in London in 2002 and bought by the group in 2018 (Richemont). That link explains why Watchfinder was the first partner for Vacheron Constantin’s Certified Pre-Owned programme.

Buying a pre-owned Vacheron Constantin in the UK: what to check

Check that the serial numbers match the papers, whether the watch carries a Hallmark of Geneva certificate you can verify online, and that it is not recorded as stolen. Then decide what guarantee you need: Vacheron Constantin’s Certified Pre-Owned watches come with a two-year international warranty.

1. Papers and the full set. Ask exactly which papers come with the watch and whether they are originals. Our guide to what “full set” means explains what each item proves and what it does not.

2. The Hallmark of Geneva certificate. If the watch came with a Poinçon de Genève certificate, you can check it on the Poinçon de Genève website by scanning its QR code or entering its unique authentication code. Online checks work only for certificates issued from 2015 onwards (Poinçon de Genève).

3. Authenticity. Buy from a seller who will put authenticity in writing and accept returns, and have the watch checked by a watchmaker you choose. Our guide on how to spot a fake watch covers what a watchmaker looks at.

4. Stolen-watch check. Before you pay, check the serial number against a stolen-watch register and ask the seller to confirm the watch is not reported lost or stolen. Our stolen-watch check guide lists the UK registers.

5. Servicing and warranty. Ask when the watch was last serviced, by whom, and for the paperwork. Whether any of the original warranty remains, and whether it passes to a second owner, depends on Vacheron Constantin’s terms. A dealer’s own warranty is a promise from the dealer, not from the brand. See watch warranties explained.

6. Who you buy from. There are four main routes:

Sources: SJX Watches, Vacheron Constantin introduces Certified Pre-Owned (12 November 2024); WorldTempus, Les Collectionneurs (checked 29 October 2026).

The Certified Pre-Owned programme covers recent watches, including current models, and lets owners trade in a Vacheron Constantin for a new one. It began with Watchfinder and is to be extended to the company’s boutiques, other retailers and auction houses (SJX Watches). Watchfinder has a boutique at the Royal Exchange in London (Richemont Annual Report 2026). For how independent dealers compare with appointed retailers, read grey market versus authorised dealer.

For the full process from setting a budget to collecting the watch, see the guide to buying a luxury watch.

Frequently asked questions

When was Vacheron Constantin founded?

In 1755 in Geneva. The date comes from Jean-Marc Vacheron’s apprenticeship contract, signed on 17 September 1755 (WorldTempus).

Who owns Vacheron Constantin?

Richemont, the Swiss luxury group listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange. Its Vendôme arm acquired the company in 1996 (Richemont).

Is Vacheron Constantin still independent?

No. It has been part of Richemont since 1996 (Richemont).

What is the Hallmark of Geneva?

The Poinçon de Genève, a certificate introduced by the State of Geneva in 1886 for watches made and assembled in the canton. Since 2012 it covers the finished watch (Poinçon de Genève; Monochrome Watches).

Can I check a Hallmark of Geneva certificate?

Yes, for certificates issued from 2015 onwards, using the QR code or authentication code on the Poinçon de Genève website (Poinçon de Genève).

What is the difference between the Overseas and the 222?

The 222 was a 1977 sports watch designed by Jorg Hysek. The Overseas, launched in 1996, is the sports collection that followed it (Wikipedia). The 222 has since been reissued in the Historiques collection.

Does Vacheron Constantin sell pre-owned watches?

Yes. Its Certified Pre-Owned programme, launched in November 2024 with Watchfinder, covers recent watches. Les Collectionneurs covers restored vintage watches (SJX Watches).

What guarantee comes with a Certified Pre-Owned Vacheron Constantin?

A two-year international warranty, a digital passport and a Vacheron Constantin guarantee letter (SJX Watches).

What does the Maltese cross on a Vacheron Constantin mean?

It is the company’s emblem, adopted in 1880 and based on a part of the mainspring barrel (Wikipedia).

This page is general information. Watch60 is independent and has no commercial relationship with Vacheron Constantin or Richemont.

We check the facts on this page against the sources listed, and it is correct to the best of our knowledge as of October 2026. Brands change their warranty, servicing and sales terms, so confirm them with the brand or the seller before you buy.