Vacheron Constantin
Vacheron Constantin is the oldest watch manufacturer in Geneva. The company was founded in 1755 by a 24-year-old Jean-Marc Vacheron. His goal was to create expensive and exclusive timepieces. In 1785, the son of Jean-Marc, Abraham, took over the company. The company was able to survive the French Revolution as well as the following economically difficult period.
By 1814, third generation of family's watchmakers, Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron, took over the company, but he soon realized, that he needed a partner to take care of the day-to-day operations of the company as well as the international sales. So in 1819, Francois Constantin, a wealthy grain merchant, became a partner in the company. Vacheron & Constantin was created.
Francois Constantin led a luxurious lifestyle and was a flamboyant character. He enjoyed travelling around the world representing Vacheron Constantin. The company had constructed huge shipping cases with hidden compartments for the most expensive and luxurious products. Through his journeys, Francois opened a lot of new markets for the company and its products, for instance in North America, where the company established an affiliate in 1864. Francois Constantin's personal motto became to be the company's motto as well: "Do better when possible, and it is always possible!".
Another key character in the Vacheron Constantin history was Georges-Auguste Leschot. Lechot was a mechanical genius, and had invented machines that could be used for series production of watch components. This was never done before, but the industry ridiculed him for his efforts. At the time it was strongly regarded, that watch components and watches were to be made by hand by skilled craftsmen!
However, Vacheron Constantin recognized Lechot's talent, and in 1839 he was hired as Technical Director for the company. Lechot immediatly manufactured various machines for the watch production, including a turning and drilling machine that could drill all the watch components holes in the exact same position. This ment, that the company could produce the needed watch components for far less than their competitors. Nevertheless, Lechot insisted that craftsmanship would still continue to play an important roll in the production, as the watchmakers were able to focus more of their attention on finishing the product. As a result, Vacheron Constantin was able to increase the quality of their products and lower the production costs, while
