Vacheron Constantin's INSANE restoration department | Inside the Archives Ep. 4
What happens when a watch brand decides vintage isn't the enemy — but a responsibility? In this fourth and final episode of season 1 of Vacheron Constantin: Inside the Archives, Andrew McUtchen, Justin Hast, and Vacheron Constantin Heritage Director Christian Selmoni go deep inside the world of restoration and Les Collectionneurs — Vacheron Constantin's extraordinary program that restores, certifies, and resells curated vintage pieces through its own boutiques. And things get philosophical, personal, and more than a little chaotic.
On the table: a Chronograph 4072 that whispers elegance at six figures. A 'Cioccolatone' with a stepped case so audacious it made Andrew forget himself and try it on mid-sentence. And a watch that could fool anyone — a reconstruction of the American 1921 made five years ago yet looks exactly like the original. The recreation, a piece unique exercise, only utilised two original 1921 parts: steel hands found in the brand's parts archive, hand-blued in the modern day just as they would in the 1920s. No part of this watch was made with CNC. 500 hours of research. Invisible decoration nobody will ever see. That's either madness or mastery. At Vacheron Constantin, it's both.
We get into what Vacheron Constantin's Les Collectionneurs program actually is and who it's for. Why Vacheron was one of the very first watch brands to offer a curated vintage program back in 2017 — and why the margins never mattered as much as the mission. What restoration actually means at a manufacture that services watches all the way back to 1755 — and how far they'll go to respect collector wishes. The case against new old stock. Patina, provenance, and why a vintage watch worn by your dad contains air that is irreplaceable. And: Justin's grail vintage VC picks. Andrew's complicated feelings about vintage. Christian's childhood ambitions to buy a Land Rover with Monopoly money and explore Africa.
Not all of it makes the cut. All of it is worth watching.