Thus, in 1819, the two joined forces and formed a business agreement that re-established the brand as “Vacheron et Constantin” (8). Abraham used this difficult period to teach his own son, Jacques-Barthélémi Vacheron, all that he knew about watchmaking and when the region emerged from beneath the clouds of war, Jacques-Barthélémi was well prepared to continue the brand’s legacy. Unfortunately, while under French occupation, these clients lost much of their wealth and resources, and Vacheron quickly lost most of his work. The workshop no longer produced pieces for the general public and focused more on creating one-of-a-kind pieces for the nobility and elites of the region. Most of the pieces produced under Abraham Vacheron’s leadership featured precious gemstones and elaborate enamel work. Many small businesses tried and failed to weather the storm of French occupation, but Abraham Vacheron remained steadfast in his commitment and managed to continue producing fine quality timepieces during this incredibly trying time. In 1798, as a part of the French Revolutionary Wars, France invaded Switzerland, established the Helvetic Republic, and annexed the city of Geneva. In 1785, long before Jean-Marc’s passing in 1805, Abraham took over the shop during one of the most tumultuous periods in European history. Jean-Marc had two sons: Louis Andre in 1755 and Abraham in 1760. Brands did not have the resources to produce watches fully in-house and they relied on artisans like Jean-Marc and his team to supply the components needed to complete their creations. In addition to the commissioned pieces made in small quantities each year, Jean-Marc also produced individual components that were then sold to other watchmakers to be used in their watches. While his workshop produced beautiful pieces, few could have known that the brand would remain a fixture in the industry more than 250 years later. To this day, complications and intricate decoration are two of the brand’s calling cards.įor the remainder of his life, Jean-Marc worked on commissioned pieces that today mainly reside in private collections around the world. In 1770, Vacheron made its very first watch featuring a complication and a few years later, in 1779, Jean-Marc produced one of the very first engine-turned, or guilloche dials. The core values of the brand, predicated upon innovation and high standards of quality, were established during this early foundational era of Vacheron.
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