Swiss gold and champlevé enamel lever dress watch Circa 1940

Gold and champlevé enamel keyless lever by Vacheron & Constantin
–
An extremely fine and equally rare, early, extra thin Swiss 18 Carat gold and champlevé enamel open faced keyless lever Couteau dress watch, circa 1940. Rhodium-plated movement, Geneva striping decoration, 21 jewels, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, flat balance spring. Matte silver dial with painted Roman numerals, outer minute track and original blued steel Breguet hands. Solid case, polished, knife edge, entirely decorated with engraved flowers and foliage and black champlevé enamel, triangular pendant. Dial, case and movement signed.
–
Diameter: 47 mm
–
Thickness: 3.5 mm
–
Signed: Vacheron & Constantin Genève Swiss
–
Vacheron & Constantin were originally commissioned by Cartier in the 1940s to produce ‘Couteau’ watches for sale in their London and New York boutiques. The watches made by Vacheron & Constantin from 1940 utilized a movement which was seven douzièmes or 1.31 mm thick, which allowed them to produce incredibly thin watches, as is the case with this watch. This piece, which is less than 4 mm thick, is one of the thinnest mechanical watches ever produced and probably one of the earliest.