A revolution in time

What do Napoleon Bonaparte, Pope Pius XI, the Duke of Windsor, Harry Truman and Larry King, apart from being famous, have in common? According to a feature in the Cigar Confidential, they are all owners of timepieces by Vacheron Constantin.

Founded in 1755, Vacheron Constantin, by its own admission, is the world’s oldest watch manufacture and has witnessed uninterrupted production since.

Jean-Marc Vacheron, a “

cabinotier ” – as the Geneva watch-making craftsmen were called at the time – opened his workshop in that city in 1755. Sixty-four years later, François Constantin joined forces with Vacheron’s heirs in 1819 and the brand was born. Vacheron Constantin registered the brand’s symbol, the Maltese Cross, in 1880.

Aside from men’s watches, Vacheron Constantin’s expertise in watches for women dates from the early 19th century and it produced its first women’s watch, a ‘quarter-repeater’, in 1810. (A repeater is a complication in a mechanical watch or clock that audibly chimes the hours or minutes at the press of a button). In 2013, the brand dedicated most of its new watches to women through three major collections: Patrimony, Malte, and Métiers d’Art.

Today, the brand, which has belonged to the Richemont Group since 1996, employs more than 500 people worldwide, including more than 400 master-watchmakers and watchmakers, engineers, designers and craftsmen in Switzerland. It is present in 80 countries and its timepieces are sold through 24 exclusive boutiques as well as a network of less than 450 select points of sale.

Consumer culture

The factors which determine the brand’s decision to set up shop are just a few: the presence of a trusted retailer, suitable retail infrastructure, local market conditions (political and economic) and its consumer culture, according to Rishab Suresh, Country Manager, India, Vacheron Constantin. In India, Vacheron Constantin has a standalone boutique in New Delhi and five points of sales spanning three cities: Mumbai, Chennai, and Hyderabad.

The brand’s engagement with India, though, dates back to the 1830s when a pocket watch was made drawing inspiration from floral motifs found in ancient Indian manuscripts. One of its first sales, in Kolkata, was made through a European agent JG Hanhart in 1849. And in 1916, Vacheron Constantin made a slim bracelet watch for the Maharaja of Patiala.

“The large market, the discerning customer and the growing culture of luxury attracted us to India. The Indian clientele is one of the largest in the world for gold jewellery, and is also knowledgeable about watch techniques. This makes it naturally a good fit for Vacheron Constantin,” he adds.  

“Indian consumers are as discerning as their global counterparts and accepting and adopting trends at a similar pace. They are more aware of brands in the luxury watch space and while the market is growing, it is doing so at a moderate rate,” says Teerath Doshi, Managing Director of Horology (Helvetica Group) a Chennai-based watch boutique.

Vacheron Constantin will have a mini luxury-watch pavilion at the upcoming Vogue Wedding Show 2014, a three-day bridal luxury event to be held in New Delhi during August 1-3. Globally Vacheron Constantin supports institutions promoting art and in India it has partnered with Tasveer, an organisation that promotes photography through its network of galleries between Bangalore, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Through this partnership Vacheron Constantin hopes to reach out to a very niche clientele. “India is a key strategic market for the watch-making industry and distribution is growing, allowing us to promote ‘high watch making’ in more cities,” says Suresh.

Objet d’art

So what makes Vacheron Constantin a coveted brand to own? “Being the oldest watch-maker in the world, it has been received well amongst our customers in the South. Being a collector’s item, customers are taking to the brand very well. The customers of Vacheron Constantin opt for it because they appreciate the timepieces’ workmanship. This makes it a technically sound product,” says Helvetica’s Doshi.

“The timepieces’ hand-finished movements comply with the strict guidelines of Hallmark of Geneva. (The seal in watches is a certification reserved for wrist watch movements made in the city. It is concerned mainly with the movement’s finish, and is also considered a high accolade in the industry). They reflect a balance between aesthetical and technical excellence,” says Vacheron Constantin’s Suresh.

A bankable buy

Prices range from ₹12 lakh to as much as ₹8 crore.  “A growing tribe of Indian men are investing in prestige timepieces — to display their pedigree, affluence and style. When you wear a luxury timepiece today, you’re automatically part of a club, an insider,” says Che Kurrien, Editor of men’s fashion magazine GQ India .

Vacheron Constantin produces less than 30,000 timepieces a year, which shows it favours quality over any other considerations, says the watchmaker.

“I wish they push the boundaries of innovation and build more of its movements in-house,” says London-based financial services professional Praneet Jayaram, who owns several quality timepieces and calls himself a watch aficionado. “But having said that, the timepieces’ aesthetics, the brand’s long heritage combined with its Swiss pedigree make for a bankable buy.”

Luxury Class tracks the evolution of the world’s leading luxury brands.