Production of Vacheron Constantin minute repeating wristwatches: 38 examples in total, in pink, yellow, white gold and platinum: - 17 examples in 1942 - 9 examples in 1944 - 12 examples in 1951 This watch is part of the series of 17 examples of which production spanned from 1942 to 1943. Not only is it a technical exploit for Vacheron Constantin to have realized such a flat wristwatch, it is also one of the minute repeating wristwatches with the most flat case ever made at that ti me. The gongs of this watch produces a broader and more generous sound when striking, clue to a resonance spiral coiling to about 340° and the shape of the watch case. Taking extra space, it often requires a thicker case. According to watch collectors and professionals worldwide, the present watch ranks among the best examples of minute repeating wristwatches made in the last 50 years. Minute repeating watches enable one to know the time even in the dark of night or in any situation when sight is impaired. To situate minute repeaters within the history of horology, one needs to start, naturally enough, by quarter repeaters. In England, quarter repeaters were developed by Daniel Quare (1647-1724) and Edward Barlow (1636-1716) around 1685- 1690, and, at about the same time, were also made in France by watchmaker Jacques Gloria, who came from Dieppe or Rouen (see Antiquorum, Hong I{ong, May 29-30, 1989, lot 105). The first known minute repeating watch dates from about 1710, signed Margiich, London, produced in Friedberg, Germany, and was sold by Antiquorum in Geneva on April 22-23, 1995 (lot 411). Next in line are the minute repeating watches produced by Thomas Mudge (1715-1794) around 1750, who was followed by Josiah Emery (1725-1797) and many more since. The first minute repeating wristwatch was produced by Omega in 1885. Only a small quantity of minute repeating wristwatches were made from then until the beginning of this century and they truly began to appear around the end of the 1920's. From then onwards, most watchmakers and manufacturers have created quarter and minute repeating wristwatches as part of their most sophisticated lines. Being a technical feat and expensive to produce, minute repeating wristwatches are made in limited productions.