Horolonomics

I admit that when I first read about the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère I did not understand the concept.

Maybe that isn't entirely accurate. I understood parts of the concept, like the fact that it is an official collaboration between a brand and the watch department at auction house Phillips. And, it was clear that the concours will award prizes to registered participants. There is also a jury.

The prizes part had me stumped, though. I guess I didn't understand why owning a watch would somehow qualify you for a prize. In retrospect, I misunderstood what the prizes were for (more on that in a minute). Additionally, I think I've figured out that I didn't understand this effort because I am not a car collector or enthusiast.

In that world, owners of vintage cars can participate in somewhat regular events and win awards. Many honors go to sought-after vehicles that have, possibly, been restored. Initially, I hadn't made the logical connection between car show competitions and the Vacheron X Phillips concours, but I now believe that connection is there.

I recently attended an event, hosted by Phillips in New York City, which helped me finally understand a sort of equivalence between a car collector councours and the Vacheron X Phillips effort.

For me, it boils down to this: when a brand has been producing watches for 270 years there are a lot of variations of a lot of timekeepers in a wide range of condition. It would be hard for any brand to fully understand the entire production history of timepieces and the extent to which those timepieces have been restored or repaired. Vacheron has a renowned historical archive. Still, there are reasons to believe that the brand will learn valuable information by opening the door to collectors and asking them to bring their watches for a conversation. And, the flow of information goes in the other direction too. Interacting with knowledgeable brand team members can potentially help owners better understand their own collection.

A couple of moments from the Phillips event might help illustrate this point.

At the center of the room were tables headed by watchmakers from Vacheron. Collectors were invited to bring their pieces to the table and have a conversation with a watchmaker. I stood and listened to a couple conversations, one about a vintage pocket watch from the U. S. Corps of Engineers and another about a unique jump hour timepiece in precious metal. What I found interesting was the fact that the exchange between watchmaker and collector seemed mutually beneficial. Watchmakers could speak to details like movement architecture and case materials.

And, collectors have often thought a lot about what they are purchasing and why, including a fair bit of research into a particular reference and any of its unique characteristics. Both conversation participants seemed to learn from each other.

The conversations betwee watchmakers and collectors was not something I had anticipated and, for me, this seems to be the most important part of the concours. I've had the opportunity to talk with watchmakers at a number of events but usually I did not have much to bring to the table.

The concours event is quite clever, though, because it serves as an opportunity for Vacheron and the brand's watchmakers to, potentially, learn from a dedicated community of collectors. In many ways it is a natural progression from events like Rolliefest in which the collector community gathers. But with the concouors, official brand representatives are there too. I was left wondering how the heritage team at Vacheron might end up benefitting from the registration of all those vintage timepieces. What kind of connections could they draw between participating timepieces and the brand's archives? Would any threads emerge which would, when pulled, reveal new information about one of the "holy trinity" of watchmakers?

I came away from the Phillips X Vacheron event thinking that the Concours d’Élégance Horlogère might play a role beyond awards and celebration. While those are certainly valuable from a marketing perspective, it is the potential for growth in understanding of heritage, and enthusiasm for collecting, which has me most curious. My hope is that we might see more such events in the future. I'm cautiously optimistic that we will.

The deadline to submit a timepiece to the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère is April 30, you can learm more at this link.

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