The Swiss watch brand Vacheron Constantin, based in the watchmaking industry’s capital, Geneva, was founded in 1755 by Jean-Marc Vacheron and continued its development ever since. Vacheron Constantin produced and distributed high-end watches for a select clientele. Their vocation was to offer unique, sentimental watches, designed by master-watchmakers and in the famous Swiss tradition of watchmaking. The firm attached the highest importance to the satisfaction of its customers on both aesthetics and precision, with a price-range which started in 2017 for about fifteen thousand dollars and went up to several millions of dollars. Since its creation, the company was called a monument of the watchmaking industry. Richemont Group acquired the company in 1996 when it had more than 400 points of sale scattered in 80 countries. In 2019, Vacheron Constantin offered six different collections, after more than 250 years of activity.
This case discusses the evolution of Vacheron Constantin in the competitive watchmaking industry in Switzerland and in the world through (a) one of the finest heritage of technical know-how, recognized worldwide for its extreme precision (b) a 250-year old relationship with its customer-base and a loyalty developed through the specificities of the brand and (c) the several innovations which conducted the firm to justify its reputation as one of the best watchmakers of history.