Vacheron & Constantin 'Le Rêve d'Amour' Dress Watch
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
1947
Maker / issuer
Vacheron ConstantinThis unique 18K yellow gold keyless dress watch, manufactured in 1947 by Vacheron & Constantin, is known as 'Le Rêve d'Amour'. The timepiece features a three-body 'Paris' style case with a polished and brushed finish.
Its standout aesthetic feature is an enamelled case back decorated with a painted scene of Venus and Cupid in an Arcadian river landscape, executed by the Geneva artist Helen May Mercier. The watch houses a rhodium-plated calibre 17''' 439 movement with fausses-côtes decoration, 17 jewels, a straight-line lever escapement, and a swan-neck micrometer regulator. The silvered dial is brushed and accented with applied yellow gold dart indices, Arabic numerals at the quarters, and gold bâton hands.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Type
- Enamel, form & pendant watch
- Maker
- Vacheron & Constantin
- Case type
- Three-body, 'Paris' style
- Enamelist
- Helen May Mercier
- Reference
- 4472
- Case Number
- 299054
- Place recorded
- Switzerland
- Movement Number
- 439776
- Date of manufacture
- 1947
- Maker / attribution
- Vacheron & Constantin
Design
- Dial and Display
- The silvered dial is brushed and provides a clean backdrop for the applied yellow gold indices. The hour markers are configured as dart indices, supplemented by Arabic numerals at the quarter-hour positions. Time is indicated via gold bâton hands. An outer minute track frames the perimeter of the dial, while a subsidiary seconds register is located at the 6 o'clock position.
- Visible features
- • Painted enamel scene on the case back • Applied gold dart indices on the dial • Subsidiary seconds dial at the 6 o'clock position • Bâton style gold hands
- Case and Enamel Decoration
- The watch is housed in an 18K yellow gold three-body case, designated as the 'Paris' style. The exterior surfaces feature a combination of polished and brushed finishing techniques. The reverse of the case serves as a canvas for a finely painted enamel scene depicting Venus and Cupid set within an Arcadian river landscape. The enamel work is attributed to Helen May Mercier, a Geneva-based enamel painter and student of Charles Poluzzi. The composition of the painted scene is documented as having been derived from an 18th-century vignette.
- Movement and Mechanical Specifications
- Internally, the timepiece is powered by the Vacheron & Constantin calibre 17''' 439. This mechanical movement is rhodium-plated and features fausses-côtes decoration on the plates. It is a 17-jewel construction incorporating a straight-line lever escapement. Precision regulation is managed through a swan-neck micrometer regulator. The oscillation is governed by a cut beryllium balance equipped with timing screws and a blued steel Breguet balance-spring. The movement, alongside the dial and case, bears the maker's signature.
Identification
- Reference
- 4472
- Serial number
- 439776
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: The provenance of the scene is based on an 18th-century vignette which the source does not detail further
- Research required: The exact rarity status relies on the auction description reporting such models were 'always unique pieces'