Price of Admission: What Are the Least Expensive Vacheron Constantin Watches?

Vacheron Constantin is one of the oldest watch brands in the world, founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron and François Constantin, and also one of the very few firms tracing their origins back to the 18th Century that can boast an uninterrupted history of watchmaking — a history now well into its third century. Like other brands we’ve covered previously in our "Price of Admission" series, particularly Breguet, Vacheron Constantin is inarguably an elite-level watchmaker, with a level of pricing commensurate with its historical and technical renown. Finding the entry-level pieces in the Vacheron Constantin collection — and even defining what "entry-level" means for this brand — is a challenging proposition, but here is a rundown, family by family, of the most attainable timepieces from the Genevan manufacture that are available today.

OVERSEAS

The Overseas collection, launched in 1996 and given a high-profile revamp and relaunch in 2016, traces its origin to an unusual and now highly collectible watch released during Vacheron Constantin’s 220th anniversary in 1977. That watch, called the 222 and recently re-released as part of Vacheron’s Historiques collection, was short-lived in its original incarnation but established many of the codes now evident in the Overseas: a six-sided bezel inspired by the maison’s Maltese cross emblem; an integrated bracelet with a similar aesthetic, and an overall bold and sport-oriented character. In its contemporary version, the Overseas is distinguished by a quick-change bracelet and strap mechanism for maximum versatility and in-house automatic movements whose rotors display the “Overseas” theme with their relief-engraved, nautical compass rose motif. 

In the current climate, when it seems like every watchmaker from Tissot to Baume & Mercier to Chopard is jumping into the “integrated sport-luxury” scrum, sparked primarily by the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and Patek Philippe Nautilus, the Overseas — whose predecessor, the 222, sprang from the same era as those classics — is currently a sexy choice for one’s first Vacheron. Nevertheless, one should be prepared to pony up more than $20K to join the club. The base Overseas Self-Winding model in a 41mm stainless steel case — a three-handed watch with a 3 o’clock date window, powered by Vacheron’s manufacture Caliber 5100 — retails for $25,000. For that, you get either a black, blue, or silver sunburst dial, gold markers and hands, and three bracelet and strap choices. There’s a smaller steel model (34.5mm), which Vacheron calls a boutique exclusive, with the same movement, for $23,100. If you’re determined to get your hands on an Overseas without breaking the $20k ceiling, and the size and movement aren’t issues, the brand does offer a 33mm steel three-hander with a quartz movement for $16,500. With this one, you also get 78 brilliant-cut diamonds on the bezel. 

PATRIMONY

Vacheron Constantin’s elegantly understated Patrimony collection made its modern debut in 2004 but its stylistic roots come from the 1950s, particularly the Ref. 6179 timepiece from 1957. That watch’s timeless, minimalist appeal came from its simple round case, slender bezel, slightly convex dial with “pearl” minute track, and its legendary vintage movement, Caliber 1003, at the time the world’s thinnest at just 1.64mm high. Watches in the Patrimony family, like those in the Traditionnelle and Malte, are offered exclusively in precious metals, ensuring that even the entry-level models are going to be priced pretty steeply. Taking its spot on the ground floor is the Patrimony Manual Winding, at 40mm in rose gold and white gold, each carrying a price of $22,100. The elegant, round cases are a mere 6.8mm thick and feature a solid caseback for personalization. The in-house, hand-winding Caliber 1400 beats inside, holding a 38-hour power reserve.

Climbing up the price ladder, Vacheron offers  a 42mm version of this watch, also in gold and a tad thicker at 7.65mm, for $24,500. This one adds a small seconds display to the dial and utilizes a curved sapphire exhibition caseback to display the manually winding Caliber 4400 AS, which boosts the power reserve to 65 hours. The smaller 39mm Manually Winding model, in rose gold or white gold and without a seconds display of any kind, is oddly a bit more expensive, at $25,200. Its movement, Caliber 1440, adds a stop-seconds function, but it’s a little perplexing how that would be a benefit worth $700 in a watch that doesn’t show the seconds. Of course, Vacheron makes Patrimony models with automatic movements as well, the entry-level models of which start at $31,900 and forego the small seconds subdial in favor of a central seconds pointer and a date window at 6 o’clock. Clothed in rose gold or white gold, these 40mm watches are powered by the manufacture Caliber 2450, showcased behind a sapphire caseback, which features a gleaming gold rotor openworked in a Maltese-cross motif and storing a 40-hour power reserve. 

TRADITIONNELLE

Similar to the Patrimony in its — well, traditional round cases and clean dial arrangements (here with Dauphine hands and wider baton indexes, along with printed railway track minute circles rather than pearl appliqués), the Traditionnelle is the family in which you’ll find some of the most technically ambitious horological flights of fancy that the historic Genevan maison offers today — including tourbillons, perpetual calendars, chronographs, retrograde date displays, and complex combos of these. Those watches, of course, are more “bucket list” than entry-level, so let’s concentrate on the simplest models. Like the Patrimony, the Traditionnelle offers all gold cases and a choice of manual-winding or self-winding movements — all made in-house, and since I have yet to mention it, all meeting the criteria of the prestigious Hallmark of Geneva for their meticulous finishing. (The outlier to this rule, the Traditionnelle Quartz — whose dainty, 30mm rose-gold or white-gold case and mother-of-pearl dial makes it definitively a choice for ladies — is the only option in the family that comes in under the $20K mark, at $19,100.)

Moving up to the mechanical models, the Traditionnelle Manual Winding in a 38mm rose-gold case retails for $23,700. The dial of the Manual Winding watches, offered in either classical white or a dark green, the latter with a matching alligator strap, is recognizable primarily through the 6 o’clock placement of the small seconds subdial, bordered, like the main dial, by a vintage-influenced railway track. The movement, Caliber 4400 AS, stores approximately three days of power reserve. The basic Traditionnelle Self-Winding model, also at 38mm in gold (and 7.77mm high), moves this seconds display to 9 o’clock and adds a discreet date window across from it at 3 o’clock. The watches carry the in-house, automatic Caliber 2455/1, with a 40-hour power reserve; altogether, these additional elements elevate the Self-Winding models to a price point significantly higher than its manually wound siblings: $30,200.

FIFTYSIX

The FiftySix collection, introduced in 2018, has its origins in a vintage watch from Vacheron Constantin’s vast archives, the fondly remembered Reference 6073 from 1956. Like that timepiece, the models in the modern FiftySix collection feature a case design inspired by the Maltese cross, the longtime symbol of Vacheron Constantin, with each of the curved lugs representing one branch of this 15th-century badge of honor. I have been a fan of this somewhat overlooked collection from the start, and a first-time Vacheron buyer might also be coaxed into giving it some serious attention, as it is the only Vacheron Constantin gents’ watch with an asking price shy of (gasp) $15,000. On a leather strap, the FiftySix Self-Winding model in steel (40mm) comes in at $12,700. Its classical sector dial, with alternating Arabic numeral appliqués and baton indexes, color-matched date window, and rich “petrol blue” colorway for the dial and strap, will appeal to many, and the movement inside, automatic Caliber 1326, impresses with its 48-hour power reserve and stop-seconds function — despite eschewing the elite finishing that keeps it (and its sister calibers in the FiftySix family) out of the prestigious Geneva Hallmark club. 

It is that arguably dubious distinction — the lack of the prestigious poinçon de Genève — that rankles longtime Vacheron purists about the FiftySix, of course, but for anyone seeking their first watch from the brand, it will likely prove easy to overlook. The same 40mm Self-Winding model on a bracelet can be attained for $15,400, still well below the entry-level fee for a mechanical-movement Overseas or a Patrimony. Like the former, the FiftySix collection includes a handful of other steel-cased models, but fans of this series can upgrade to precious metals as well: the Self-Winding model in pink gold carries a retail price of $25,500.

HISTORIQUES

Unlike the others I’ve explored here, the Historiques collection is less of a streamlined product family than an umbrella term for several distinctive watches whose commonality is that they are based closely on specific, milestone timepieces from Vacheron Constantin’s nearly three centuries of history. The Historiques American 1921, for example, with its Roaring Twenties-era tilted dial, is nothing like the Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955, a midcentury bicompax chronograph nicknamed for its curving “cow horn” lugs. And the Cornes de Vache has little in common with the Historiques 222, a revival of the previously mentioned 1977 cult classic that inspired the Overseas — and which might be one of today’s hottest luxury watches, at least according to the watch media and influencer community. Naming the “most affordable” in each of the very exclusive Historiques categories is something of a lost cause, as very few of them are targeted at an entry-level audience. The one model that is available in stainless steel is the Historiques 222, a boutique exclusive, and that watch’s asking price of $32,000 positions it well above any other time-and-date-only Vacheron watches in steel — of which there aren’t many in the first place, to be honest. 

MALTE

With its slender, tonneau-shaped cases, the Malte collection occupies a rather niche corner of the Vacheron Constantin universe these days, with only five references currently listed as available on the company’s website, all in rose gold, most of them in 34.4mm x 28.4mm sizes suitable for ladies. If you’re a fan of the tonneau style — which Vacheron says it has been using in the Malte models since 1912 — there is a Manual Winding model in the aforementioned size with a mother-of-pearl dial for $21,900; this is the only smaller Malte model without a diamond-set bezel, which of course adds more than $10k to that price. For the gents, Vacheron offers a Manual Winding timepiece at a more substantial 42mm x 36.7mm size, with gold case, gold hands and indexes, and a 6 o’clock small seconds display, for $28,100. The Malte watches use the same Caliber 4400 AS as the Manual Winding Patrimony models; at the moment, Vacheron offers no self-winding options in the Malte collection. 

ÉGÉRIE

Finally, we come to Vacheron Constantin’s youngest collection, and the one devoted specifically to feminine timepieces, the Égérie, which launched on the cusp of the Covid era in Spring of 2020 and represented the maison’s stated mission of “bringing together the worlds of haute couture and haute horlogerie.” (The name had been used previously for a tonneau-cased ladies collection in 2003.) The distinguishing features of the modern Égérie are its tilted figure-eight dial design (incorporating either an analog date or an off-center moon-phase) and elegant numeral typography, and of course, they are all in precious metal, many with diamond settings on the dial, case, bezel, and even the bracelet. An outlay of $21,400 will get you the smallest version, in a 30mm rose-gold case and outfitted with a Swiss quartz movement. A handful of models in steel, with diamond settings, and mechanical self-winding movements, will run you just a little more. The 35mm Égérie Self-Winding, with a diamond-set bezel and the date display in the aperture at 2 o’clock, costs $23,400, while the 37mm, steel Égérie Moon Phase — same diamond-set bezel, with lunar complication occupying the 2 o’clock aperture — takes the MSRP to $28,900.