Exceptional Collectors Timepieces, Ho...

Geneva, May 15, 2005

LOT 155

?Automatic Yellow Cioccolatone? Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, No. 527934, case No. 356540, Ref. 4737. Made in 1957. Very fine and rare, large, square, center-seconds, self-winding, 18K yellow gold gentleman?s wristwatch with an 18K yellow gold Vacheron & Constantin buckle.

CHF 38,000 - 48,000

EUR 25,000 - 30,000 / USD 32,000 - 40,000

Sold: CHF 36,800

C. Two-body, curved, solid, polished, stepped bezel, rounded lugs, thick domed crystal. D. Matte silveredwith applied yellow gold pyramidal and triangular indexes. Yellow gold "bâton" hands.M. Cal. 12??? P1019/1 aut., rhodium plated, "fausses-côtes" decoration, 21 jewels, straight line leverescapement, beryllium balance with timing screws, adjusted to heat, cold, isochronism and five positions,shock-absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance-spring, swan-neck micrometer regulator.Dial, case and movement signed.Dim. 35 x 43 mm. Thickness: 12 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3 - 6
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 5 - 01

Notes

Ref. 4737 is called ?cioccolatone? by Italian collectors due to its shape. Several variatons exist, manual winding, Ref. 4822, the self-winding Ref. 4764 and 6440 with calendar and moon phases; Ref. 6440 with center-seconds; Ref. 6440Q, with date. These models are the most admired and sought-after wristwatches of the 1950s. Vacheron Constantin, always innovative, was clearly ahead of its time in offering a model so unusual in size and shape. Particularly pleasing was the rounded outline of the case, with its superimposed ?levels?. At the time, it was made in yellow gold, more rarely in pink gold, and only two examples in white gold. It was reintroduced as of 2003 with a guilloché dial, and was launched under the name ?Toledo?, with a platinum case. For another example of this model see: Antiquorum, ?The Quarter Millennium of Vacheron Constantin?, April 3, 2005, lot 221.