Important Collectors' Wristwatches, P...

Hong Kong, Jul 10, 2005

LOT 312

"Couteau" Vacheron & Constantin, Genève, No. 439373, case No. 318630, Ref 4039, "Couteau". Made for Cartier, Paris, and entered into the Cartier registers on the 13th of December 1949. Extremely fine and equally rare, extra-thin, platinum dress watch.

HKD 310,000 - 470,000

EUR 32,000 - 50,000 / USD 40,000 - 60,000

Sold: HKD 218,500

C. One-piece, solid, polished, knife edge, flat bezel, triangularpendant. D. Matte silver with painted radial Arabic quarters andbâton indexes, outer minute graduation. Blued steel "bâton?hands. M. Cal. 17??? 7/12, rhodium-plated, "fausses côtes" decoration,21 jewels, straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallicbalance, flat balance-spring.Dial, case and movement signed, case stamped with the Cartierinventory number.Diam. 48 mm. Thickness 3.9 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 5 -32 - 01

Notes

Vacheron & Constantin were commissioned by Cartier in the 1940s to produce "Couteau? watches for sale in their London and New York boutiques. Up to this point Cartier sourced their ?Couteau? watches from several suppliers including, from 1935, Jaeger, who had just invented a movement of 7.75 douzièmes. The watches made by Vacheron & Constantin from 1940 utilized a movement which was seven douzièmes or 1.31 mm thick, which allowed them to produce incredibly thin watches, as is the case with the present watch. This watch, which is less than 4 mm thick, with the crystal and 2.76 mm thick excluding the crystal, is one of the thinnest mechanical watches ever produced. It appears that at some time the owner of the watch had the dial restored and the name of the manufacturer was printed on the dial at this time. Vacheron Constantin have confirmed production of this watch for Cartier and have stated that the watch originally left their workshops with a dial signed for Cartier.