A Vacheron Constantin Historiques Ultra Fine 1955

If your tastes tend towards the classical in watches and watchmaking, this might not be your ultimate grail, but then it again, it just might be. This is the Vacheron Constantin Historiques Ultra Fine 1955, one of the thinnest watches ever made, with the ultra thin caliber 1003, just 1.64mm thick, which approaches the technical limit for ultra thin movements with a standard movement layout. The entire watch overall is just 4.1mm thick, and it’s a watch that makes a watch writer feel as if there is nothing for it but to resort to clichés like “timelessly elegant,” and “everything you need and nothing you don’t” the only excuse for which is that in this case, the clichés happen to be accurate. A lot of watches are referred to, somewhat generously, as extra flat or ultra flat or ultra thin these days, but this watch is a paragon of the type.

The dial side of the watch is a master class in simplicity, with every element reduced to its geometric minimum. Nonetheless, the watch is also instantly legible – more so than some sports watches – and the time can be read under almost any lighting conditions, including near-total darkness. The case design is from the same playbook – an almost Platonic ideal of watch case design, in which you can feel the abstract property of temporal circularity hovering, nearly visible in itself, just beneath the surface.

The “1955” in the name of the watch, refers to the Vacheron model on which the Les Historiques Ultra Fine 1955 is based; that watch is the reference 6099, which was created for Vacheron Constantin’s 200th anniversary, in 1955. The 6099 was at launch in 1955, the thinnest wristwatch that had ever been created, and while that record has been broken on multiple occasions since then, most of the records that have been set in the last couple of decades have relied on changes, sometimes drastic, in the basic architecture of a watch movement. The history of ultra thin watches and movements was covered here at The 1916 Company Journal by Greg Gentile, last August, and he notes in his story that ” … the race for thinness has become an arena for technical one‑upmanship, a test of which brand can bend physics the farthest without breaking it.” In a pejorative mood you could describe some of these record breakers as verging on performative stunt watchmaking, although I think is going a little too far – such watches rely on considerable ingenuity as well as cutting edge prototyping and manufacturing methods and have their own appeal.

However, the Les Historiques 1955 has a serene beauty which is deeply rooted in the centuries-long pursuit of ultra thin watchmaking, and reminds us of an era when the thinner the watch was, the more expensive it often was as well.

An ultra thin watch is impossible without an ultra thin movement, and interestingly enough, the Les Historiques Ultra Fine 1955 uses the same movement that was used in 1955: the Vacheron Constantin caliber 1003. It is an exquisite piece of work – in the Les Historiques edition, the movement plates and bridges are in 18k gold, although the architecture is identical to the Jubilee ref. 6099.

To produce a mechanical movement this thin, some departures do have to be made from standard movement architecture practices. One of the most notable is the absence of an upper bridge for the crown wheel/mainspring barrel, and ratchet wheel – the mainspring barrel rotates on a single point of support on the movement mainplate, and a great deal of care has to be taken in manufacturing and adjusting such a watch, to ensure that all of the going train and escapement components are perfectly flat, so that the gear teeth and pinions can mesh accurately. It’s a very unforgiving genre of watchmaking – so much so that true ultra thin watchmaking is sometimes considered a complication in its own right.

The original Jubilee 6099 and its successor, the Les Historiques 1955, are ultimately so seductive not for their absolute physical dimensions (although if they were not as flat as they are, their appeal would certainly be different and perhaps less focused). They are, it’s true, amazing technical achievements as well as representatives of one of the most important families of watchmaking design language. But their real appeal is in how harmoniously each part, from the beautifully finished and gorgeously laid out movement, to the case, dial, hands, and dial furniture, all work together. The most successful watches, I think, are those in which the interior and exterior form a seamless and satisfying whole – easier said than done, and the Les Historiques Ultra Fine 1955 shows just how powerful that combination of wholeness, harmony, and radiance can be.

Contact The 1915 Company for pricing and availability.