Vacheron Constantin Vintage Red Leather Box

Volney, a noted vintage watch enthusiast, shares his recent acquisition: a mid-century Vacheron & Constantin bordeaux leather box. His post delves into the unique design flaw of this particular box, which requires a missing leather ring to stay closed. Volney's experience highlights the paradoxical feelings and challenges inherent in collecting rare vintage items, where the pursuit of originality often necessitates creative restoration.

Being the noted obsessional and compulsive vintage watch amateur I am, I have recently received this interesting ancient box in the bordeaux color (see picture below), which I tend to prefer over the brown editions. I am somehow disappointed however, as it seems the box cannot stay closed: the two little doors are mounted on hinges fitted with springs and need to be pressed together by a leather ring in order to remain in the closed position; as this leather ring is absent on this particular box, it remains yawning. 

Picture: a defect mid-century Vacheron & Constantin bordeaux leather box. 

Now this is nothing unfixable, but I wanted to share this sadness with you: sometimes, the desire for originality is so strong, that it requires this dear quality to be somehow constructed a posteriori. And those ludicrous yet desperate attempts build paradoxical feelings which seem to be at the heart of collecting.