Vacheron Constantin

The smaller size felt very nice on my 16 cm wrist.

But I have to be honest: I was somehow underwhelmed.

Even if everything is very nicely done, it is far from having the charm of a guilloché dial Patrimony ref. 43031.



Here, hands, subdials, guilloché dial, case shape: everything is simply more appealing to me.


credit: Mr Watchley 


Automatic Caliber 1120QP, heavily wrapped in plastic...



Of course, the rotor of the ref. 43031 (below) is a little less attractive than the one the new reference (above).


credit: Mr Watchley 




On photos, I preferred the white gold, but in real life I found this variant more appealing: warmer and more unified.

The absence of two-tone simply works better here, for me.



That said, in colored gold too, I much prefer the ref. 43031.


credit: Mr Watchley 


The traditional Maltese cross pin buckle.



Rose and white gold side-by-side.



And both watches with my Chronometro Gondolo, ref. 5098P: for me, personally, they aren't even close...



Then I had the chance to try on for the first time an example of Les Historiques 1912, ref. 37001/00G-8636, a model launched in 1997.

The example I could try was a restored one, part of Les Collectionneurs program.

The 30 x 7 mm white gold case felt really nice on my 16 cm wrist.

The thin articulated lugs are true wonderful.





The nice curved solid case back hides manual-winding caliber 1132.

This model was limited to 1912 pieces.

I also liked the crown and the overall look of the watch.



Another enjoyable element is the original case: it wasn't shown to me, but I add it here because it really deserves to be seen.


credit: The Watch Club London


Side-by-side with my Chronometro Gondolo.

Even if I'm biased and like the 5098P better, I still find that the 1912 is a lovely watch.



Lastly, I tried on another restored timepiece part of Les Collectionneurs: a yellow gold Royal Chronometer "Batman" ref. 6694.

The case measures 35 mm and, again, sits nicely on my wrist.



But I didn't find this watch completely appealing, partly because the gold dial with the yellow gold case feels a bit too much (at least to me).



Also the white date disc feels strange is this fully gold watch.



I think this watch works better with a silver dial.



And even better with a white gold case.


credit: The Keystone


Another thing which bothers me is that the case is a bit thick.



But I like the solid case back.



As well as the simple pin buckle with a discreet Maltese cross on the left corner.



In conclusion, apart from the 1912, I wasn't won over during this visit!