
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Vacheron Constantin Quai de Lile, ref. 85050 TI, circa 2010
- Maker / attribution
- Vacheron Constantin (brand / maker)
- Date
- circa 2010
- Historical period
- Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- titanium
- Dimensions
- circa 42mm
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 371-164
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 164
- Catalogue title (original)
- VACHERON CONSTANTIN, SWISS MADE, REF. 85050 TI, QUAI DE LILE, TITANIUM
Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 371-164), this is a wristwatch by Vacheron Constantin, made in Switzerland, dated circa 2010. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: titanium. Recorded dimensions: circa 42mm. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Antiquorum catalogue description
A very fine and rare, titanium case., self winding wristwatch, titanium case, day date
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Caliber: 2460 QH; Case No.: 1153642; Signature: case, dial and movement
Provenance
Property af an American collector
Historical context
Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)
Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.
Smartwatches became the world's best-selling watches, while mechanical watchmaking focuses on craft, innovation (silicon components, new escapements) and independent makers.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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