2009 Watch of the year is up on James

Remember 2009? Just two months into the new decade and I’m still not used to writing “2010″. It’s such an ugly number in handwriting, don’t you agree? There are more reasons to cherish the year that has passed, especially on the watch front. Just after New Year’s, James summarized the year with a two part article where I was lucky to share some of my favorite watches of 2009. Sadly, I was too much of a vintage sissy to actually include a new watch in my list. The closest thing to a new watch was Breguet’s remake of a pocket watch from the 19th century…

Luckily, I’m not the only one living in the past. Parisian jewellers Cresus have managed to get their hands on a real stand-out timepiece. The Vacheron Constantin Historiques American 1921 was awarded 2009 Watch of the year from prestigious publication Montres Passion. The watch, a tribute to a watch Vacheron made for the American market in the roaring twenties. The first world war had ended, Bix Beiderbecke was streaming out of old-timey radios and people gathered in speakeasies for fun and games.

The Historiques American pays tribute to those days of yore. The watch features a cushion case in 18k rose gold that’s diagonally tilted. Add Breguet-style hands (in black oxidized gold), solid art deco styling and the ooze of dandyism and you have a winner. The movement is hand-wound, beating at 28,800 with a power reserve of 65 hours.

The watch, priced at €19,500, is available right here on JamesList.

Tags: 1921, cresus, historiques american, montres passion, vacheron constantin

This entry was posted on Monday, February 8th, 2010 at 12:56 pm and is filed under Watches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.