BAROCCO - Vacheron & Constantin
Vacheron & Constantin
This design of the watch movement of all sizes was officially registered under No. 4 among seven other designs in the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property by Ancienne Fabrique Vacheron & Constantin, Société Anonyme on February 1, 1905, under No. 11718.
The mechanism is nickel-plated and in excellent condition. It features high-quality finishing of the parts, cut bridges with bevels, bright clean jewels, polished screw heads, and a steel thermometer. The "Maltese cross" on the winding barrel, the "wolf's tooth" on the crown and barrel wheels, and the attachment of the crown and barrel wheels with several screws are all indicators of a high-class mechanism.
According to the classification adopted for movements exported to the USA, this mechanism is of "Grade No. X," which belongs to the mid-price segment and is characterized by the following features:
- - Remontoir, setting hands via winding crown
- - Bimetallic temperature-compensating balance with gold regulating screws
- - Swiss lever escapement with double roller
- - Polished “moustache” anchor fork with counterweights (Fr. - à moustache) and exposed ruby pallets
- - Isochronous balance spring with Breguet overcoil
- - “Maltese cross” on the mainspring barrel
- - “Wolf's tooth” on the crown and barrel wheel
- - 16 ruby jewels
- - Finishing touch
- - Precise adjustment for isochronism, cold, heat, and position
- - Features: the central bridge has a notch opposite the barrel wheel
This mechanism was manufactured by a renowned factory for the well-known American jewelry company Bigelow, Kennard & Co. of Boston, Massachusetts. This is evidenced by the inscription engraved on the central bridge. The serial number of the mechanism is marked as 2S 87897, corresponding to the year 1905. The letter "S" in the number is characteristic of mechanisms supplied by Vacheron & Constantin for export to the USA for private labels.
John Bigelow (1802-1878) was born in Westminster, Massachusetts, on May 26, 1802. He was trained as a silversmith and was first listed as doing business in Boston in 1824. John founded the company John Bigelow & Co. as a jewelry business in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1830. A few years later, his brother Alanson joined him, and a bit later, another brother, Abraham O. Bigelow, a member of parliament, joined, prompting the firm to change its name to Bigelow Bros. & Co. The company expanded its business from jewelry to high-quality watches and altar silver. The goods were privately produced and sold in their store in Boston. Most of the purchases were made in Europe. In particular, watches were purchased in England and Switzerland.
On various auction platforms today, one can find pocket watches by Bigelow, Kennard & Co. with movements predominantly made by Vacheron & Constantin, as well as IWC, Longines, and Waltham Watch Co.
Sales were conducted not only in the immediate vicinity of Boston but also often in quite remote parts of the country. However, as the market area expanded, so did the difficulties in collecting debts. In 1845, Martin Parry Kennard from Brooklyn joined the firm, and the company name was changed to Bigelow Bros. & Kennard. After 1863, the firm became known as Bigelow, Kennard & Co. After the death or retirement of the original partners, Alanson Bigelow Jr. became the sole owner, and in 1895, he was joined by his son Alanson Bigelow, the third family member with the same name. Another son, Homer Lane Bigelow, entered the partnership in 1899 but retired a few years later. The company became a corporation in 1912. Bigelow, Kennard & Co. were among Boston's leading merchants in the 19th and early 20th centuries, selling high-quality domestic and imported silver, optics, and watches. The store closed in 1971.
The trade catalog "Treasure Chest," the 1929 annual of Bigelow, Kennard & Co., 331 Washington Street, Boston, Mass.
Below are examples of products sold in the company's store and advertisements.
Well, the mechanism chosen is worthy in every respect. Now we just need to add a dial, hands, case, and strap that match the level of Swiss high watchmaking art.
Turning the page of history, we return to our project. First, we conducted thorough measurements of all the geometric dimensions of the mechanism: outer and fitting diameter, height, and others. This is extremely important for developing a 3D model of the case. The outer diameter of the mechanism was found to be 29.6 mm, which corresponds to a size of 13 lignes, with a fitting diameter of 28.9 mm.
After the measurements were taken, the mechanism was disassembled by a watchmaker, cleaned, and cleared of dirt and old oil. The main plate, bridges, gear train, barrel cover, and decorative insert were handed over to a jeweler-engraver for skeletonization and engraving.
Based on the obtained data, our design engineers created a computer model of the future watch case.
According to the technical specifications, the case will be made of 925 sterling silver. It will be a classic three-piece round case with two crystals, a fluted side, and straight rounded lugs, with a diameter of 41.0 mm. The front and rear bezels will snap onto the middle part of the case.
As you can see from the drawing above, the inner diameter of the case is 36.6 mm, which is 7.0 mm larger than the diameter of the mechanism. Therefore, the mechanism will be secured in the case with a brass spacer ring. It would have been possible to simply make a smaller diameter case, but in this instance, we followed the customer's request for a 41 mm diameter case.
In accordance with the developed 3D model, the master printed blanks for making casting molds, known as "wax patterns," on a 3D printer. The wax patterns are then attached to a sprue, forming a sort of "tree." This tree is dipped into a flask filled with a special molding compound and then baked. Under high temperature, the molding compound hardens, and the wax is melted out of the flask, leaving a solid mold with cavities for the future parts.
Next, using vacuum casting, the mold is filled with molten silver. The mold is cooled in water, the remaining molding compound is removed, and a jewelry "tree" is obtained similar to the first stage—except this tree is made of precious metal instead of wax. The block of parts is cleaned and separated, then bleached and dried. After that, each casting is carefully separated from the tree with cutters. The photo below shows the case elements after casting. The cut sprues, which were used to attach each part to the sprue, are clearly visible.
The next important stage is to refine all the components of the case, clean up the sprue attachment points, fit the parts to each other and to the mechanism, and then sand and polish them. In other words, we need to give the product a marketable appearance.
Meanwhile, our artist drew a sketch of the dial, which we have approved with the customer.
The dial will be skeletonized, in the shape of a ring, with large Roman numerals at the 3, 6, 9, and 12 o'clock positions. An engraved decorative bridge connecting the 3 o'clock hour marker to the hole for the central axis of the mechanism serves both an aesthetic and practical purpose: firstly, it covers the view of the springs, levers, wheels, and gears of the remontoir, and secondly, it holds down the hour wheel, preventing it from potentially slipping off the axis.
The dial was made from a brass sheet using laser cutting and engraving. The resulting blank was fitted into the refined and polished case. As we can see, the necessary dimensions were adhered to, and the dial ring covers the spacer ring of the mechanism. Incidentally, a similarly purposed decorative engraved brass insert for the back of the watch will be made. This insert will be attached to the spacer ring with screws.
After the fitting, the dial was sent for manual refinement to the jeweler-engraver, who had by then completed work on the mechanism. It should be emphasized that all engraving work was done by the master by hand: skeletonization was performed using a jigsaw, and engraving was done with chisels. It is also worth noting that, generally, there is no approved finished template that needs to be replicated. The master makes certain sketches on the mechanism parts, and from there on, it is pure creativity and imagination. You can be sure that the final result will be unique and unparalleled; no one else on planet Earth will have the exact same pattern.
Platinum and bridges are engraved with a large floral pattern in the Baroque style that gave our project its name. The seats for the stones, holes for the fixing screws and other technological holes are decorated in the form of flower heads.
All original inscriptions and stamps were preserved and integrated into the new design as nameplates. Additionally, the craftsman created an engraving in the form of a complex geometric pattern on a decorative insert.
The completed work is pleasing to the eye and commands great respect for the engraver and his craftsmanship. Believe me, it is a very meticulous and labor-intensive process that requires patience and a steady hand. Achieving such a result with laser engraving is impossible. Moreover, during the process, the craftsman infuses the piece with a part of his soul. These are not just words – when you hold the finished piece in your hands, you can literally feel the warmth emanating from it.
As for the dial, the engraver refined it by hand and, so to speak, passed the baton to the jeweler-galvanizer. He covered the patterns of the floral design with yellow gold and the Roman hour markers with red gold. Silver was applied to the minute markings and the outer ring of the dial.
The recess in the dial is filled with black enamel, resulting in a bright and contrasting dial. In the lower part, around the "6 o'clock" mark, the name of the mechanism's manufacturer is engraved.
Then the jeweler began working on the mechanism. The plate, bridges, cover, and the barrel's driving wheel, as well as the rear decorative insert, were coated with a layer of high-quality gold plating applied using the electroplating method.
The appearance of the parts immediately transformed - they began to look even more impressive and expressive. In addition, the gilding protects the metal from oxidation.
For this project, we selected a cylindrical steel crown that perfectly matches the style of the case, and our craftsman engraved the famous logo on its end surface, by which the Vacheron Constantin manufacture is unmistakably recognized – the Maltese cross. The client also approved the hands for the watch – classic elegant hands with dark blue bluing of the "Breguet" type.
Meanwhile, work on the platinum and mechanism bridges continued. To add expressiveness and clarity to the composition, the jeweler-galvanizer applied black rhodium around the contours of the parts and around the stone settings, contrasting with the gold plating.
All steel parts - winding wheels, spring, and pawl of the ratchet mechanism, pads for balance staff jewels, temperature compensator, and parts of the Maltese mechanism - were polished. After that, the watchmaker proceeded with the assembly, lubrication, and adjustment of the mechanism. The assembled mechanism underwent accuracy and power reserve testing on a timing machine and showed quite respectable results for a mechanism nearly 120 years old: deviations ranged from -17 to +35 seconds per day with a power reserve of over 32 hours.
The watch case was polished and coated with platinum to protect the silver from oxidation. The dial was attached to the mechanism, and the hands were installed. Next, the mechanism was placed and secured in the case. The timepiece is ready!
But what are watches without a strap?! We offered the customer a choice of five different options, varying in color and texture. They chose a light brown crocodile leather strap. This is a premium-class strap, handmade, stitched with linen thread, custom-made for our watch studio.
The strap perfectly complements the watch and harmonizes in color with the hour markers.
After attaching the strap, the watches acquired their final appearance. The finished product underwent a procedure to ensure compliance with the technical specifications and internal quality standards developed in our workshop. No deviations or violations were found, signatures were placed on the document, and the project transitioned to the "completed" category – the watches were sent to their happy owner.
It's worth mentioning that the project took quite a significant amount of time – about 9 months. The main reason for this was the busy schedules of some craftsmen, leading to necessary temporary pauses in the project. However, the result unquestionably justified the time spent.
Once again, our craftsmen have reaffirmed their high level of skill. It's no secret that engraving is one of the most exquisite and complex forms of jewelry art. In this project, it looks particularly majestic as it's executed in the Baroque style, known for its grandeur and luxury. The work of the jeweler-engraver represents true art, requiring artistic taste and a creative approach.
The Baroque style originated in Europe in the late 16th century and reached its peak in the 17th and 18th centuries. It was an era of grand palaces, lavish ceremonies, and luxurious interiors. Baroque aimed for visual magnificence and dramatic flair, which was reflected in jewelry craftsmanship as well. Engraving in this style is characterized by an abundance of ornaments, intricate patterns, and floral motifs.
All of this is fully inherent in our watches. It's worth considering the fact that engraving work was carried out on small surfaces, requiring the engraver's utmost skill. To ensure the perfect result, it's also essential to note that engraving and skeletonization should not affect the functionality of the timepieces.
The engraving in the style we chose not only embellishes the watches but also gives them uniqueness and cultural value. It's an art that captures the spirit of the time, praising the pursuit of beauty and refinement. Baroque motifs create a sense of luxury and wealth, transforming the watches into not just instruments for measuring time but also works of art.
If our "BAROCCO" project has inspired you, and you've decided to become the owner of a similar creation, combining jewelry, horological, and design art, feel free to contact our watch studio. We'll be delighted to help realize your boldest and most unusual desires. Together, we'll create the watch of your dreams, which will not only be an accessory but also a powerful means of self-expression.
They will be able to speak about your social status, personal preferences, character, and even cultural affiliation. After all, the choice of watches is a kind of language through which every person expresses their individuality and uniqueness.
In our watch studio, you can order the creation of luxurious skeletonized watches based on antique and vintage mechanisms from famous watch manufactures such as Vacheron Constantin, Patek Philipp, Ulysse Nardin, Piaget, Rolex, and many others, which will be a reflection of your personality and tastes.
