The Vacheron Constantin Historique Ultra Fine 1955 and 1968 watches

Historique. Watchmakers used to strive to manufacture with the slimmest mechanical movements which they would encase in an equally slim and finely made case. Excellence in watchmaking was measured in millimeters. Today, things are different. The more than decade old trend, which shows no sign of abating is for larger and larger watches. Thirty-four and thirty-six millimeter cases have gone from being masculine to feminine. Even fine mens dress watches have inched up to 38mm and larger.

Bucking this trend, Vacheron Constantin is launching, at the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie 2010 two of the slimmest watches this elite brand has ever manufactured: The Vacheron Constantin Historique Ultra Fine 1955 and 1968 watches. The Vacheron Constantin Historique 1955 is ultra-thin round case watch. The Vacheron Constantin Historique 1968 is ultra-thin rectangular case watch.


Vacheron Constantin Historique 1955. The Vacheron Constantin Historique 1955 is one of the thinnest mechanical watches in the world. This is achieved by the use of the manual winding caliber 1003 movement, which is only only 1.64 mm thick, giving the watch and overall thickness of of just 4.1 mm.

The round 18k gold case has a 36mm diameter, and amazing enough manages to incorporate a sapphire crystal case back despite its 4.1mm girth.

Vacheron Constantin Historique 1968. The Vacheron Constantin Historique 1968 timepiece is more the 1mm thinner than its historical predecessor at 5.5 mm. Unlike the manual winding movement of the 1955, the 1968 has a self winding movement, the calibre 1120, which is the reason it is 1.4mm thicker than the 1955. The 5.5 mm thickness makes this watch one of the thinnest self winding watches in the world. The 18k gold case measures just 35.2 mm along the long sides.

The appeal of these type of watches is small, but there is still a market which appreciates finely crafted watches. While, larger watches and movements are not necessarily manufactured less finely or with lesser quality, watches like the 1955 and 1968 are truly horological wonders.

About Vacheron Constantin. Vacheron Constantin was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron. This makes it the oldest watch manufacturer in the world with an uninterrupted history.