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Vacheron's "Concours d'Élégance Horlogère" explained
At the invitation of Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, Vacheron Constantin is launching a Concours d'Élégance Horlogère for enthusiasts and collectors worldwide who own Vacheron Constantin pocket watches or wristwatches.
To be eligible, your timepiece must address the following criteria:
- Only authentic Vacheron Constantin timepieces, manufactured between 1755 to 1999 (no clock, no quartz)
- No major modification allowed (aftermarket diamonds, bracelet modification…)
- The movement doesn’t need to be functional, but in a correct condition
- The timepiece doesn’t need to be complete, but with at least the majority of its components
- No stolen watch
Each watch will only be allowed to compete in one of the seven categories of this edition, at the owner's choice:
1/ Chiming mechanism : pocket watches and wristwatches equipped exclusively with a minute repeater, quarter repeater, half-quarter repeater or grande sonnerie.
2/ Chronographs : pocket watches and wristwatches equipped with a two- or three-counter chronograph, a single pusher, or a split-seconds mechanism.
3/ Astronomical complications : pocket watches and wristwatches equipped with a triple calendar, a complete calendar or a perpetual calendar.
4/ Multiple complications : pocket watches and wristwatches combining at least two complications - tourbillon, repeater (quarters or minutes), chiming mechanism, chronograph, split-seconds, complete or perpetual calendar, sky chart.
5/ Chronomètre Royal : pocket watches and wristwatches bearing the official designation "Chronomètre Royal" issued from 1907.
6/ Métiers d'art : pocket watches and wristwatches featuring engraving, enameling, gem-setting, guilloché or any other decorative craft, with the exception of skeleton pieces.
7/ Design : pocket watches and wristwatches featuring Vacheron Constantin's signature design, either in the case or through the time display – retrograde display, jumping hour, world time, etc.
Eligible pieces will be evaluated according to nine criteria:
- authenticity,
- elegance,
- rarity,
- impact on the history of Vacheron Constantin and/or on watchmaking in general,
- provenance,
- technicality,
- métiers d'art (artistic crafts),
- state of preservation and emotional dimension.
Co-chaired by Aurel Bacs and Christian Selmoni, the jury will be composed of the following members:
Registration will be open from January 19th to April 30th, 2026, on vacheron-constantin.com and in the Maison's boutiques.
The awards in the form of trophies, without financial compensation, will be granted in Geneva on November 10th, 2026, after the Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo autumn auctions.
Thanks for reading.
Best, Emmanuel
All images come from the official Vacheron Constantin Press Release Kit
Vacheron's "Concours d'Élégance Horlogère" explained
At the invitation of Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo , Vacheron Constantin is launching a Concours d'Élégance Horlogère for enthusiasts and collectors worldwide who own Vacheron Constantin pocket watches or wristwatches . To be eligible , yo...
Hmmm, guess only a small handful of us still love and value CLOCKS.
Pity to see VC excluded clocks outright as a category, but if they no longer make clocks, guess there's no commercial profit PR reason to mention them. Bummer.
Yes, I wonder why clocks were excluded.
The idea was probably that only watches are really a matter of wide public interest... Best, Emmanuel
I received an invitation .. Probably because my collection is registered on "Hour Glass" The only thing that would qualify is my L'historiques chronograph
I know one of our great collectors here would definitely elevate that event to the max!!!
I don't know who you're thinking of,
but it will be a pleasure to discover which pieces will be competing (if we have access to them) and which ones will be rewarded! Cheers, Emmanuel
Agreed.
And seeing the timepieces in competition or at least the awarded ones will be a pleasure. Best, Emmanuel
As far as I’ve understood the answer is “yes”.
The Cabinotiers timepieces are made by Vacheron Constantin, so, as long as they have not been modified afterwards by an external source, they fully meet the requirements. Best, Emmanuel
I think that the pieces restored by Les Collectionneurs
are not to be confused with the new bespoke timepieces created by Les Cabinotiers. I might be wrong, of course, but I think that the restoration department and the creation department are separate. Best, Emmanuel
Wow, dear Tick Talk, this Chronomètre Royal
looks absolutely wonderful! The engraved case with floral pattern seems stunning. A dream of a pocket watch. Best, Emmanuel
Such a beautiful timepiece!
And definitely a recognisable VC design. Thanks for sharing. Best, Emmanuel
Thank you.
Perhaps I will plan a trip into NYC to visit the boutique. I haven’t been to it since it moved. 🤯 Also it’s about time to get a new strap for the 82172.
That makes three good reason to pay a visit to the boutique:
registering your 6115 for the concours, discovering the new boutique and buying a strap for your 82172 ! ☘️
Now, this is most surprising!
Are they really going to exclude such iconic pieces as the celebrated "Bras-en-l'air"? And so many other pieces whose casing was manufactured by Verger Frères? I find it hard to understand (and even to believe, even if I don't doubt your words at all - I'...
I believe it’s buried in article 1.5 of the Participation Rules…
Now, I’m now 100% sure if this is the exclusionary rule, but it would seem like it (I wasn’t told specifically what the reason was so have to infer). “Movements or cases sold separately are not eligible”. As far as I’m aware, VC never sold cases or moveme...
Yes, that's exactly how I understood you!
And I'm grateful both for the information (VF excluded) and your proposed explanation! Thank you!
I saw a message on Chinese social media:
5 nominated works will be selected from the entries for each award, and Vacheron Constantin will invite these 35 watch owners to gather in Geneva, the birthplace of the brand, in November to witness the ownership of the 7 award works together.
Thank you for sharing this information!
It would be great if some member of our site was part of these 35 happy few. Let’s wait and see!
