58
Vacheron Constantin
"View of New York City"
An elegant and most possibly unique platinum and diamond "bras en l'air" open face pocket watch, retailed by Gübelin
- Estimate
- CHF70,000 - 140,000€74,600 - 149,000$84,800 - 170,000
CHF190,500
Lot Details
- Manufacturer
- Vacheron Constantin
- Year
- Circa 1940
- Movement No
- 412'699
- Case No
- 161'588
- Model Name
- "View of New York City"
- Material
- Platinum
- Calibre
- Manual, 18 jewels
- Dimensions
- 46mm diameter
- Signed
- Case and dial signed Gübelin, movement signed Vacheron Constantin
- Accessories
- Accompanied by Vacheron Constantin Extract from the Archives confirming production of the movement in 1940. Furthermore delivered with Gübelin Extract from the Archives confirming the present watch with silver dial, white stones, Gübelin signature on the dial and movement from 1940.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Catalogue Essay
Vacheron Constantin has always created original pieces with alternative time displays, and one mode the brand came to be famous for is the Bras en l’Air (arms up). This type of double retrograde (1 hand indicating the hours, the other the minutes) first came into use in the early 19th century but became fashionable and in vogue in the 1930s.
As often with Vacheron Constantin’s more daring pieces of the time the Bras en l’Air is the birth child of Vacheron Constantin’s collaboration with Parisian casemakers Verger Frères. These models feature a central engraved applied character (a Buddha, Serpent charmer…) whose arms point to the hours and minutes inscribed on either side of the dial once a push piece was pressed.
The present example in platinum takes us back to a delightful time when New York was swinging to Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington, and the city was undergoing an intense cultural and social transformation.
The dial magnificently expresses the city’s glamour and energy with the central engraved and diamond-set skyscrapers in the foreground and the New York skyline hand-engraved in the background.
The present "Bras en l’Air" in platinum is not only a vibrant piece of horological art, but its beauty and rarity are further enhanced by the Gübelin retailer signature on the dial.
As often with Vacheron Constantin’s more daring pieces of the time the Bras en l’Air is the birth child of Vacheron Constantin’s collaboration with Parisian casemakers Verger Frères. These models feature a central engraved applied character (a Buddha, Serpent charmer…) whose arms point to the hours and minutes inscribed on either side of the dial once a push piece was pressed.
The present example in platinum takes us back to a delightful time when New York was swinging to Glenn Miller and Duke Ellington, and the city was undergoing an intense cultural and social transformation.
The dial magnificently expresses the city’s glamour and energy with the central engraved and diamond-set skyscrapers in the foreground and the New York skyline hand-engraved in the background.
The present "Bras en l’Air" in platinum is not only a vibrant piece of horological art, but its beauty and rarity are further enhanced by the Gübelin retailer signature on the dial.
Provenance
Vacheron Constantin
Swiss | 1755The world's oldest watch brand in continuous operation since its founding in 1755, Vacheron Constantin was the first watch company to manufacture movements with interchangeable parts beginning in 1839. Vacheron's watches are admired for their Latin-influenced case designs, well-balanced proportions and exquisitely finished movements of the highest quality. The Geneva-based manufacturer is known for their highly complicated masterpieces, including the King Farouk Grand Complication made in 1935, the Tour de l'Ile that was the most complicated serially produced wristwatch when introduced in 2005 and the 57260 — the world’s most complicated watch — made in 2015.
Key vintage models include minute repeating wristwatches such as the references 4261, chronographs such as the references 4178 and 6087 and the oversized Cioccolotone models such as ref. 4737. Collectors also appreciate Vacheron's Chronometer Royal pocket and wristwatches, as well as the '222,' the brand's first luxury sports watch produced from 1977 through 1984.
Browse MakerKey vintage models include minute repeating wristwatches such as the references 4261, chronographs such as the references 4178 and 6087 and the oversized Cioccolotone models such as ref. 4737. Collectors also appreciate Vacheron's Chronometer Royal pocket and wristwatches, as well as the '222,' the brand's first luxury sports watch produced from 1977 through 1984.