Vacheron Constantin Overseas Chronograph

The Holy Trinity of watch brands: Patek Philippe, Audemars Piguet and Vacheron Constantin.

Far less understood than either of its respected compatriots, Vacheron Constantin has a legacy of producing some of the very finest haute horlogerie complications in history — and some of the loveliest.

Sports watches came later to VC, as pressure from the new “luxury sportwatch ” category introduced in the early 1970s forced the storied maison to evolve. Its entry came in the form of the 222, whose design language inspired the current Overseas collection. The Overseas models compete with other watches such as the Patek Philippe Nautilus, Audemars Piguet Royal Oak, IWC Ingenieur, and Piaget Polo, and often find favor by merit of design, value, and variety of complications.

This particular example, an Overseas Chronograph Reference 49150, features an absolutely gorgeous, deep blossy blue dial with applied luminous ind ices, an 'outsize' date indicator at 12:0 0, a signed screw-down crown, screw-down pushers, and a sapphire crystal.

Powered by Vacheron's in-house calibre 11 37 column wheel chronograph movement, this piece comes fitted to a Vacheron signed navy blue rubber strap with Vacherons excellent deployant clasp.

Robust, functional, and a bit off the beaten path - this is a watch that would have looked fresh in the 1970s, looks fresh now, and will look fresh in another 50 years.