The Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955
When all you want is a perfect watch.
The Vacheron Constantin Historiques Cornes de Vache was introduced in 2015, in platinum, but it’s based on a much earlier design – the Vacheron 6087, which Vacheron produced starting in 1955. The 6087 is a rare bird; only 36 were made and they represent high end mid-century chronograph design at its highest level. Their rarity means they don’t show up often at auction and when they do, they command a healthy premium. The 6087 used a Lemania chronograph movement – Vacheron caliber 492 was based on the Valjoux 23, which was introduced in 1916 and was produced, rather amazingly, until 1974, and it was used by, among others, Rolex, Audemars Piguet, Vacheron, and Patek Philippe.
The fact that this traditionally designed lateral clutch column wheel chronograph not only lasted for so long, but was also used by some of the biggest names in the business, says something about the idea of progress and innovation in chronograph design – I would be the last person to suggest that some of the more unusual chronograph designs of the last quarter century are to some extent, solutions in search of a problem, but the classic two button chronograph – which in its fundamentals has changed very little since Willy Breitling’s patent from 1934 – is, like the lever escapement, kind of hard to beat. The movement is a wonderful example of the fact that in high end watchmaking, what you do with a base caliber is at least as important, if not more so, than what movement you use.
After the 6087, Vacheron wouldn’t produce another chronograph until 1987, but in 2015, the company resurrected elements of the 6087 design, with “cow’s horn” (cornes de vache) lugs and so the Cornes de Vache 1955 was born.
The Cornes de Vache doesn’t use the Valjoux 23 but it does use a movement originally designed by that other great chronograph manufacturer, Nouvelle Lemania. The Vacheron chronograph caliber 1142 runs in 21 jewels, with a 48 hour power reserve and the movement is a variant of Lemania’s CH27, which was introduced in the early 1940s and which was the basis for the Omega caliber 321. Finely finished and upgraded versions of the CH27 based calibers 2310 and 2320 (17 and 21 jewels, respectively) would go on to be used by Patek (CH 27-70) Breguet (533.3) Vacheron (1140/41) as well as Roger Dubuis (calibers 56 and 65) and it has been used as the base for perpetual calendar chronographs and split seconds chronographs as well (Revolution’s Wei Koh has written a detailed story on the somewhat complex history of these Lemania calibers).
The Vacheron 1142 as used in the Cornes de Vache 1955 is produced in house, by Vacheron Constantin, and from what I’ve read the rights to the Lemania 2310 were acquired by Roger Dubuis, and then by the Richemont Group when it bought Roger Dubuis in 2008.
In short, the Vacheron caliber 1142 is the current version at VC of a movement that represents nearly 70 years of history at Vacheron, and whose origins go back even further, to the early 1940s. The movement is interesting for its history, but also for how it flies in the face of a lot of conventional wisdom about what constitutes fine watchmaking – while it’s now produced in-house by Vacheron, the Lemania calibers on which the 1142 is based have powered some of the finest pieces of horological art ever to come out of Switzerland (or anyplace else, for that matter) and they were instrumental in stimulating Lange, when it relaunched in 1994, to begin development of its own in-house chronograph movement for the Datograph.
The Cornes de Vache has a beautiful movement but of course, it’s really the whole package that sets it apart. The whole idea of a dress chronograph is a little unusual nowadays; we associate chronographs with instrument watches like the Navitimer or Speedmaster, and the ubiquity of that other Valjoux chronograph movement – the 7750 and its variants and clones – has made it possible for an absolutely mind-boggling number of chronographs to reach collectors, many of which are available for a tiny fraction of the cost of a watch like the Cornes de Vache.
Still, though, the fact remains that there are standards in fine watchmaking and that qualitatively, not all watches are created equal – and it is also true that while brand recognition and perceived prestige have always been a part of the luxury watch world, it’s also true that in general such recognition and such prestige have been based on value added in the creation of watches, as well as the quality of their designs. The Cornes de Vache 1955 would be a fascinating watch just on the basis of the history of the design and the history of the movement, but it would be only that, if it did not represent a high level of traditional craft as well – and one of those rare instances in fine watchmaking when the movement and overall design are on the same continuum of excellence.
It has never been more possible in the history of mechanical horology to spend enormous sums of money on watches with, whatever else they might have to recommend then, contain very little in the way of real fine watchmaking content. For the money, the Cornes de Vache thanks to the level of craftsmanship it contains, is today something that I bet nobody considered its predecessor in 1955 – it is something of a bargain.
The Historiques Cornes de Vache 1955; case, platinum, with platinum pin buckle, 30 meters water resistance with sapphire crystals front and back, 38.5mm x 10.9mm. Movement, Vacheron caliber 1142, hand wound, 27.5mm x 5.6mm, with 48 hour power reserve, running in 21 jewels at 21,600 vph. Two pusher, two register, lateral clutch column wheel chronograph with freesprung adjustable mass balance. Movement stamped with the Geneva Seal.