Vacheron Constantin

Interesting retrospection: 70 years ago the Consumers Union of U.S. did a ranking of watch brands in terms of quality and somehow things do little change, at least at the top end of the spectrum. '...Not surprisingly, Patek Philippe, Vacheron & Constantin... 

Interesting to see the conclusion, that hand refinement or hand-fitting was regarded old fashioned or a deficit. How things could change over the time.

Somehow a predecessor of internet retailing

Because of Rolex I do not much wonder about. Just look at that movements. But more strange things like Omega below Longines. When was the time when Omega was winning all the Observatory Competitions? It might be influenced by what kind of stuff the compan... 

At that time only Le Coultre branded watches have been sold by the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company in USA. Therefore they are probably not mentioned separately. Maybe how the Le Coultre business was performed, using imported movements and US produced cas...  

What you can find often in this time are cases marked Longines Wittnauer Watch Co (L.W.W.), Longines, Le Coultre all fitted with Le Coultre branded movement, and also calendar watches in steel which seem to have been imported completely finished. The qual...  

thanks for sharing, quite interesting read ! i'm sure this survey would have skewed & Omega would have jumped place right after 'moon landing'. of course quality in perspective of finishing, precision & hand-made are totally looked very differently be... 

Than that would implicate for me also the continuous tradition which was observed over generations. Therefore the Trinity of Haute Horologie is still untouched and even not touched in any regrads. To many of the 'Independents' observe the rule of marketin... 

that there are many better than the trinity ! ALS, FPJ, Kari, Laurent Ferrier at least to name a few...I neither think except for ALS the others even run special events even , Best, Mahesh.,

And as the time goes by, they disappear faster than they could be spotted and hyped. But they all should be supported. If it's your cup of tea, go for them.

Also, it is exactly how the trinity were when they started & some one believed on their work too just like I believe on today’s independents !! Btw even today I’m highly doubtful of finishing standards of VC & AP. PP standards are varying to price points ... 

according the linked articles. And also automatic watches were considered "unreliable" by this "expert". The watches were not tested, compared, etc. Just one guy's list. Heck, we can all do that right now...LOL! Pretty useless list. I'm surprised Consumer... 

The relieability of automatic watches was not there in 1949. Or which movement and company you are talking about?

And omitting brands from the list because this expert did not have enough experience with them such as Rolex, etc. and not even comparing the watches listed for accuracy, fit and finish, etc. just goes to show that again this is basically an arbitrary lis... 

Even if Rolex is not listed - there is an explenation for it. It is a US market study, and I don't think you could judge the marked back then better than the cited expert.

Did one of your relatives write the article? Scratching my head on the aggression. Oh well. It's easy to attack people on the anonymous internet. And just for your clarification, I'm not adding my opinion on the best watches of 1949. I am disputing the va... 

But nobody wonders if a company is not on the list if it was not present in the marked in a lager scale. I don't think that your opinion is right, that this historic document is irrelevant, it's not that easy. The document is relevant because the expert i... 

if Consumer Reports asked a different "watch expert", say one who never had any experience with PP, VC, or AP and only knew American brands and some Swiss marques other than the "big 3" such as stalwarts like Touchon and Co. (#5 on that list) and that oth... 

That the Top 3 have been winning even against the US competition. What is your alternative message?

I have no alternative message nor am I advocating any brands over any other, especially back in 1949. LOL! What I have been saying is that that "best watches" list that Consumer Reports published has no objective criteria such as timing the watches agains... 

The list won't be the same that's most probably right, but the top 3 would stay as it is. And that those expert employed by the Consumers Union of U.S. has no experience and no standards is certainly wrong. Do you have any experience in this institution? ... 

It may be over your head or English may not be your native language (which is not a problem) so I'll just answer your latest reply and then leave it at that. My example was to ask 12 different "watch experts" not necessarily US experts as you suggest in y... 

Some of you wonder about the brands listed, - it's explainable other stated it's no more relevant or would look different today, - that's true others put the Consumers Union publishing irrelevant at all. - what's pointless For me as a vintage aficionado i... 

Read the whole article first, then come up with your opinion about it. Probably some very useful information for the normal consumer in it - if we think about 1949, very well state of the art in consumer information. Or could you spot any point of importa... 

- Pocket vs. wrist watches - Swiss vs American made - Need of jeweles - Need of adjustments - Quality of watch cases - Other watch features: Stop-watches, self-winding, waterproof, shock-resistant, non-magnetic - Prices, taxes, tariffs - Tips on watch car... 

Probably not smart to jump in a discussion like this but can’t resist to do so. I belief one should place the 1949 survey in the context of that time: - there was no widespread distribution of knowledge as we know today - automatic watches were unreliable... 

I don't think there was a discussion, not at all. For a discussion you need educated and well informed people. What I recognize in internet are manly opinions, more often sliding into hate speak if you don't agree with the ultra limited point of view of t... 

At that time only Le Coultre branded watches have been sold by the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company in USA (beside other brands). Therefore they are probably not mentioned separately. Maybe how the Le Coultre business was performed, using imported movemen...  

The position ratings in the list are difficult to justify - a lot of pro's and con's -, also at the top end. PP, V&C, AP always called 'The Trinity of Haute Horlogerie'. But there have been some others come close by. ...  

Both of those companies were kings of the watch world in 1949 and either CR didn’t have access to their watches or were holding some kind of grudge. I am not a big Rolex fan but it’s undeniable that Rolex was innovating then and I find it hard to believe ...