Vacheron Constantin Concours D’Elegance Horlogere’ in cooperation with Phillips auction house.
When Vacheron Constantin and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo announced the creation of the world’s first Concours d’Élégance dedicated entirely to timepieces last week, it was immediately clear that this was no ordinary industry headline; it was a reshaping of the cultural landscape of haute horlogerie. The scope of the initiative, the stature of the partners, and—most importantly—the fact that nothing like this has ever existed in watchmaking before ensured that the news reverberated quickly and widely across the global collecting community.
There are nine categories in the Vacheron Constantin Concours D’Elegance Horlogere with Phillips.
Now, the excitement truly begins. As of January 19, collectors worldwide can officially register their eligible Vacheron Constantin pocket watches and wristwatches for consideration in the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère — an initiative by Phillips in association with Bacs and Russo. For collectors, historians, and passionate enthusiasts alike, this marks the opening chapter of a new tradition—one that borrows the romance and rigor of automotive concours culture and applies it, for the first time, to horology.
To understand the significance of this event, it helps to look beyond horology. For decades, the great automotive concours—Pebble Beach, Villa d’Este, Amelia Island—have celebrated historic automobiles not as machines, but as cultural artifacts, judged for originality, preservation, provenance, and elegance. This new Concours brings that same philosophy, rigor, and reverence to fine watchmaking. It is a huge undertaking, and one that effectively introduces an entirely new way of honoring watches: not by price, not by trend, but by historical and aesthetic excellence.
Watches can only be submitted if they were made prior to the year 2,000 and quartz watches and clocks are not permitted in the Vacheron Constantin Concours D’Elegance Horlogere with Phillips
The competition is open exclusively to Vacheron Constantin timepieces produced between1755 and 1999. Nothing from the year 2000 onward may be submitted. Quartz watches, clocks, and pieces that have undergone significant non-original modifications are excluded. These restrictions are not arbitrary; they are fundamental to the integrity of the Concours, ensuring that what is being celebrated is authenticity, preservation, and historical relevance.
Collectors may register their watches through April 30, 2026, either online or via Vacheron Constantin boutiques worldwide. Each watch may be entered into just one of seven categories, including chiming mechanisms, chronographs, astronomical complications, multiple complications, Chronomètre Royal, métiers d’art, and design. Entries will be evaluated according to nine criteria, ranging from provenance and technical merit to elegance, rarity, state of preservation, and emotional impact.
Collectors can submit their watches until April 30, 2026.
It is also worth noting what this competition is not. It is not about hype or financial investment. There is no monetary prize. As with the finest car concours, the reward is prestige alone—the recognition of peers, scholars, and experts, and the honor of having one’s watch formally acknowledged as an exceptional example of horological history.
That such an event could only happen with Vacheron Constantin feels entirely appropriate. As the world’s longest continually operating watch manufacture, the Maison has spent years not only creating extraordinary timepieces, but recovering, studying, and authentically restoring them. Through its heritage expertise and the work long carried out within its Les Cabinotiers division, Vacheron Constantin has quietly set the standard for how historical watches should be preserved and understood. The Concours formalizes that commitment and places collectors—often the true guardians of these watches—at the very center of the story.
Christian Selmoni, Director of Style & Heritage, Vacheron Constantin
The international jury is co-chaired by Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant at Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo, and Christian Selmoni, Vacheron Constantin’s Director of Style and Heritage. They are joined by an extraordinary group of figures from across the watch world, from editors to historians, collectors and more. I am honored to be one of the jurors for this inaugural editions and to say I am in distinguished company is an understatement. Among the other jurors: collector and cultural platform founder Yasmine AlShathry; independent watchmaking pioneer Felix Baumgartner of Urwerk; Hodinkee founder Benjamin Clymer; author Nicholas Foulkes; vintage authority Dr. Helmut Crott; scholar-collector Auro Montanari; journalist and Revolution founder Wei Koh; Phillips Deputy Chairman Alexandre Ghotbi; and several other highly respected experts.
Aurel Bacs, Senior Consultant at Philips
The awards will be presented in Geneva on November 10, 2026, following the Phillips autumn auctions. Between now and then, the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère promises to spark discussion, excitement, and—perhaps most importantly—a deeper appreciation for watches as cultural treasures.
According to Aurel Bacs, “As a lifelong enthusiast of the Concours d’Élégance concept, it has long been my dream to bring this concept to fine watchmaking. I am delighted that Vacheron Constantin has accepted our invitation to support the world’s very first Concours d’Élégance dedicated to timepieces, and I look forward to the inspiring discoveries and scholarly conversations that will emerge from the watches entered in this competition.”
Similarly, Christian Selmoni said of the competition that it “Allows us to further honor those who preserve and promote the Maison’s expertise and history. It also creates new opportunities for exchange with a deeply knowledgeable collector community.”
Rest assured, I will be bringing regular news, updates, and coverage as this landmark event unfolds, because this is not simply a competition—it’s is the beginning of something entirely new and extraordinary.
