Eclectic Sunday – Vacheron Constantin Historiques Aronde 1954

... if only the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Aronde 1954 was as pure as I (then) wished it to be ...

Regrets I have a few, but more on this later. The Historiques Collection from Vacheron Constantin is not for everyone, because they are far from being mainstream.

(Aronde 1954 on the left, Ultra-Fine 1968 on the right; both from the Historique Collection)

One of my favourites is the Aronde 1954 in both versions:

• WG – introduced in 2010 for Japan and only limited to 20 pieces
• RG – regular production introduced in 2011 (Ref. 81018/000R-9657)

When I saw first pictures of the “Japan” version me immediately fell in love. The “Lips” are kind of sexy, but at the same time the dial is kind of pure – almost like a Zen garden. Never saw it in the (white gold) metal, until today.

One can say the original version was even more refined in the detail …


(Ref. 4984; dimensions 24 x 39 mm; caliber 435/3C)

… but I still was close to fall for the new one. Vintage pieces are genuinely nice, hard to find and quite often became “safe queens” – unfortunately.

The “contemporary” version has a good size (dimensions 31.20 x 44.50 mm; height 10.20 mm) for today standards and is water-resistant to 3 bar. Both are pros in my book.

What kept me away from the new one, back in those days? The movement; Cal. 1400 AS (frequency 4Hz/28.800; 40h power reserve). Not because it was a bad one – quite the opposite – but in my book it was not perfect just because it was round and not a form movement. Superb construction and finishing doesn´t help, not in this case.

Truth to be told, (not only) Vacheron Constantin have a tradition of using one of their many round movements in watches of different shapes, just as this fine example of a Ref. 6290, a vintage square timepiece, shows, essentially the original to the Ultra-fine 1968:

Passionate collectors can be like the proverbial “pain in the ass”, I know, but you can spend your money only once. Be eclectic and follow your heart!

Given the chance to get one today (with a preference for the WG) me probably would take another decision. Still not happy with the shape of the movement, but the watch is still deep in my mind. Nothing is perfect, but only a few things stick to your mind even after so many years.

A couple of more pictures:

Regrets – most of us collectors have quite a few. It´s almost part of the game, isn´t it?!

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