Vacheron Constantin is about to turn watch collecting into a world stage.
Drawing inspiration from the tradition of automotive Concours d’Élégance, the storied Swiss maison is launching an international competition dedicated entirely to its most exceptional historical timepieces. The initiative, developed in collaboration with auction powerhouses Phillips and Bacs & Russo, invites collectors to present rare Vacheron Constantin watches for consideration in what will become a landmark event in high watchmaking.
Named the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère, the competition is designed to celebrate both the technical mastery and artistic heritage that have defined the brand for centuries. Pocket watches and wristwatches produced between 1755 and 1999 are eligible for entry, provided they remain faithful to their original form. Quartz models, clocks, and significantly altered pieces are excluded, ensuring the focus remains firmly on traditional haute horlogerie.
Seven Categories, One Shared Obsession
The competition will award honours across seven distinct categories, each highlighting a specific facet of watchmaking excellence.
Among them is a category dedicated to chiming mechanisms, recognising timepieces equipped with sophisticated acoustic complications such as minute repeaters and grande sonneries. Chronographs will be judged separately, encompassing everything from classic multi-counter layouts to split-seconds and single-pusher designs.
Another category focuses on astronomical complications, celebrating watches featuring calendar mechanisms ranging from triple calendars to perpetual calendars. Multiple complications will reward timepieces that combine two or more complex functions within a single watch.
Rounding out the selection are categories dedicated to Chronomètre Royal models, the maison’s refined métiers d’art creations (excluding skeletonised pieces), and a design category honouring watches that best express Vacheron Constantin’s distinctive visual language—whether through case architecture or unconventional displays such as retrograde indications.
Each watch may be entered into only one category, reinforcing the concours’ emphasis on precision and intent.
Judged Beyond Mechanics
Rather than focusing solely on technical merit, the concours introduces a holistic evaluation framework. Entries will be assessed across nine criteria, including authenticity, rarity, elegance, provenance, state of preservation, and technical execution. Judges will also consider a watch’s historical significance—both within Vacheron Constantin’s legacy and the broader evolution of watchmaking—along with its artistic craftsmanship and emotional resonance.
This multidimensional approach ensures that each winning timepiece is recognised not just as an object of precision, but as a cultural artifact.
A Jury of Global Authority
Overseeing the selection process is an international jury composed of respected historians, designers, and industry figures. Among them are noted watch historian Nicholas Foulkes, Felix Baumgartner, co-founder and CEO of Urwerk, and renowned vintage watch specialist Auro Montanari.
Leadership of the jury will be shared by Aurel Bacs, co-founder of Bacs & Russo, alongside Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s director of heritage and style—bringing both scholarly depth and institutional insight to the process.
Bacs has long championed the Concours d’Élégance format and views its transition into horology as a natural evolution. He describes the initiative as an opportunity to spark deeper dialogue, discovery, and appreciation around historically significant timepieces.
How to Enter — and What’s at Stake
Registration for the competition opens January 19, with submissions accepted until April 30. Collectors can enter either through Vacheron Constantin boutiques or via the brand’s official digital platforms.
Winners will be revealed on November 10, coinciding with Phillips and Bacs & Russo’s autumn auctions—a fitting stage for a celebration of rarity, scholarship, and horological prestige. Beyond the trophies themselves, successful entrants will earn something far more enduring: recognition among the most discerning collectors in the world.
For Vacheron Constantin, the concours is more than a competition. It is a statement—one that affirms the enduring relevance of craftsmanship, history, and connoisseurship in an age increasingly driven by novelty.
Imagery courtesy of Vacheron Constantin
