Rare Swiss gold keyless lever chronometer watch Circa 1900

Gold open faced by Vacheron & Constantin
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A rare Swiss 18K yellow gold keyless lever chronometer pocket watch, circa 1900. A polished, engine-turned case back, hinged gold cuvette. White enamel dial with bold radial Arabic numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds dial and yellow gold spade hands. Frosted gilt movement, 18 jewels, wolf’s tooth winding, straight-line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, swan-neck micrometre regulator. Dial, case, cuvette and movement signed.
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Diameter: 57 mm
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Thickness: 15 mm
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Signed: Vacheron & Constantin  Genève
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The case is slightly scratched.
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Jean-Marc Vacheron was born in 1731 and died in 1805. He founded a watch workshop in the Geneva district of Saint Gervais in 1755. In 1785, his son Abraham took over the company, which was still small. The nobility, clergy and wealthy merchants favoured their watches. Sales deteriorated dramatically during the French Revolution, and Abraham faced numerous problems. According to tradition, he married and attached his wife’s surname to his name. Thus, the name of the workshop was changed to Vacheron-Girod. At the beginning of the 19th Century, Abraham’s son Jacques Barthélemy Vacheron took over management of the company, which changed the name to Vacheron-Chossat. On numerous business trips to Italy, France and Germany, Jacques Barthélemy found new customers for their sophisticated products, including pocket watches with flat movements for the time, hunting cased watches and minute repeaters built into expensive and elegant cases.
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In 1819, Vacheron brought in the son of a cloth merchant, François Constantin, as a partner to support the distribution of watches and the company became known as Vacheron & Constantin. Constantin gained his first experience in the watch industry as a salesman for Jean-François Bautte, and his exceptional abilities soon overcame the company’s previous financial difficulties. Sales figures rose significantly, and Vacheron & Constantin began selling in New York by Jean Magnin and in New Orleans by Brey in 1830. In 1970 the ‘&’ was taken from the name, henceforth the company was called Vacheron Constantin. It is the oldest continually active watch manufacturer in the world. The brand logo is the Maltese cross. Today, Vacheron Constantin is part of the Richemont group.