Swiss 18K gold contest chronometer tourbillon Circa 1940

Historically important timing contest chronometer
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A historically important chronometer with tourbillon made for contest purposes at the Geneva Observatory by Vacheron & Constantin SA in Geneva, Switzerland, circa 1940. The original case is glazed on both sides. The white enamel dial has Arabic hour numerals, an outer minute track, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and blued steel moon hands. The numbered movement has an Observatory chronometer escapement with a tourbillon, wolf’s toothing and Geneva striping decoration.
The dial is signed.
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Diameter: 48 mm
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Signed: Vacheron & Constantin Genève
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The present watch is an absolute rarity and, in its original condition, one of the few surviving examples of a Vacheron & Constantin Observatory chronometer with tourbillon.

From the 1930’s to the 1940’s, a few of these chronometers were made for competition purposes at the Observatory in Geneva, of course, in the very best quality and with the greatest sophistication. The results were sensational. This tourbillon took part in competition 16 times, between 1947 and 1968, almost every year and was probably the most successful watch that Vacheron & Constantin sent in over more than 20 years! It even won 1^st place twice! All contest results for this watch are available.

These watches were never intended for sale and therefore never entered circulation. Nevertheless, Vacheron & Constantin encased a few examples from their stock in gold pocket watch cases in the 1980s and 1990s. This example, on the other hand, is still in its original case made for the contests and is therefore a museum rarity, a highlight for every chronometer collector. Confirmation of authenticity from Vacheron & Constantin and that the 428884 tourbillon was never encased in a pocket watch case is available, the Extract from the Archives as well! According to the archives, the tourbillon was made in 1940. It is an observatory caliber with the designation “RA 19 Tourbillon, Chronomètres de Poche Grand Format Vacheron Constantin”.

A few years ago, Vacheron & Constantin produced the so called “Coffret Observatoire Set Of Five Traditional Chronometer Tourbillons” for a special customer. A set of five different Observatory tourbillons, all with Observatorium test movements from the 1930s, including the “sister movement” No. 428882. The movements received new dials, high quality gold cases and were technically revised. The Coffret Observatoire (Observatory case) is the most important project of Vacheron Constantin’s Atelier Cabinotiers, which is dedicated to the production of special and custom made watches. According to a post on “The Hour Lounge”, the official forum of Vacheron Constantin, the Coffret Observatoire set price is TW$ 135.950.000, which is equivalent to about US$ 4,34 million.
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A tourbillon (whirlwind in English) is a mechanism to reduce the influence of gravity on the movement of a mechanical timepiece in order to increase accuracy. The Swiss-French watchmaker Abraham Louis Breguet invented the tourbillon in 1795 and received a patent for it on June 26, 1801. In a tourbillon, the escapement and balance wheel are mounted in a rotating cage to eliminate balance errors, creating a uniform weight.