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WatchProSite|Market|Digest

Vacheron Constantin

If you asked my lonely opinion...

 

Patek wouldn't have a "competition of elegance" as such a competition could be seen as inelegant. Encourages participation? What participation? It's not like you restored the watch yourself... It's just you own it.
A competition of elegance in the watch world? What does that really mean? It means you bought a watch at auction, or found an old watch in a drawer, and sent it into the competition. Maybe had the watchmaker polish and clean it up before you sent it in. Seems rather superficial to me. Outside of owning it, it's not like the vast majority of participants did any watchmaking on it. What about this seems so meaningful to you?
The term "Concours d'Elegance" comes from the car world. In the car world, owners of antique cars would find an old car, restore it in a loving way to make it a faithful reproduction of the original, and enter the car into a competition of elegance. There was real blood, sweat, and tears put into that. Father and son put together all their weekends to have a fun group project. A project that often took several years if not tens of years and cost a lot of money. This was the past.
Today, billionaires simply speak with consultants about which Concours d'Elegance event (there are multiple such events all over the world) they'd like to win. The consultants figure out what the competitive landscape is like, and what cars are likely to enter into the competition. They then work with their client on procuring a car that will likely win against the researched competition. There is no "getting your hands dirty" and restoring a car yourself - the only thing you do is write a check. Everything is a calculated and strategic.

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16 Comments view entire thread 

Which brand has impressed you the most recently

 
By: gotmilky : January 30th, 2026-01:27
For me its Vacheron. Their 270th anniversary line, their exceptional timepieces like the solaria ultra grande complication la première and their upcoming Concours d'Élégance Horlogère. Seems like they listen and engage more than the other brands, This pro...  

The Concours d'Elegance is simply a marketing exercise.

 
By: patrick_y : January 30th, 2026-02:14
We had a similar plan on WatchProSite - and that's our WristScan. We chose not to call it that as it a "Concours d'Elegance" (French for Competition of Elegance) as we wanted it to be more collaborative and not "competitive" per se. Back to Vacheron Const... 

If you asked my lonely opinion...

 
By: patrick_y : January 31st, 2026-05:33
Patek wouldn't have a "competition of elegance" as such a competition could be seen as inelegant. Encourages participation? What participation? It's not like you restored the watch yourself... It's just you own it. A competition of elegance in the watch w... 

Think about what this competition implies...

 
By: patrick_y : January 31st, 2026-19:21
Imagine if you were Chanel; and you had such a competition. Would the Chanel Maison want to admit that Lagerfeld's designs are better than the current designer Matthieu Blazy's? In the car world, it makes more sense. As it's still a competition of eleganc... 

I agree. It is always good to get activity and publicity.

 
By: patrick_y : January 31st, 2026-21:25
But the idea here is auction-related. Auction houses need "winners" to generate interest so these pieces will increase in value. Brands need value increases since a real driver of watch sales is value retention related. And a rising tide lifts all boats, ... 

I agree that calling it a “competition of elegance” is the wrong framing — for watches in general, and especially for a single brand.

 
By: gotmilky : January 31st, 2026-21:17
Competition implies winners and losers, which feels inelegant and philosophically messy. A showcase or celebration of historical pieces fits far better. Where I disagree is on participation. Participation in watches isn’t about restoring a movement yourse... 

The 270th anniversary releases didn’t do it for me,

 
By: quattro : January 30th, 2026-06:13
and I think VC suffers from being part of Richemont, with a lack of true personal vision at its head. By comparison, I find what Karl-Friedrich Scheufele is doing for both Chopard and Ferdinand Berthoud much more interesting. I don’t like all the decision... 

Parmigiani for consistently adding to their offering in a controlled way

 
By: ifraher : January 30th, 2026-17:08
Establishing the PF format and working within that on dial updates etc., really enjoying what they are doing, VC of course, every year they come with exceptional novelties whereas I feel PP have a more glacial approach... I like Moser also, for similar re...