You might think that it’s impossible, for a seasoned haute horology collector, to get emotional just on a single watch.
The doubt is immediately delated when a “unicorn” is discovered. This name is given to specially delivered only-pieces, produced by horology’s most famous maisons.
In this category, we undoubtedly find the “Don Pancho” by Vacheron Constantin, named after its owner Francisco Martinez Llano, “Don Pancho” to friends.
This watch surely represents one of the most important vintage watches in history, and probably the most important for Vacheron Constantin ever.
The first time this watch was noticed was in 1992, when a book titled “L’Univers de Vacheron Constantin Geneve” published a black and white picture of a watch with tonneau case, crown at 12, retrograde date, calendar, minute repeater and “Brooking Madrid” retailer signed dial.
Enthusiasm and amaze were dictated by the fact that the “Don Pancho” was the first watch in history featuring a retrograde date and a minute repeater.
From that moment, and for the following 27 years, the watch was shrouded in mystery, because its location was unknown and so was its actual existence uncertain because it went through the Second World War.
Because of the lack of informations, the watch was referred as its book’s cataloguing, “the 3620”.
The turning point came in 2011
Alex Ghotbi, Watch Specialist and Head of Sale at Phillips, received a colors picture of the watch, that proved its existence and solved one of collectors’ biggest questions, the case material.
By the way, the thrill was immediately quit because the anonymous informant disappeared when understood the sensation that the picture created. A few years later, Ghotbi contacted one of Francisco Martinez Llano’s descendants, being able to book an appointment, to which he went together with Phillips’ legendary auctioneer, Aurel Bacs.
When they saw the actual watch, both surely were very relieved to find out that the case was in good conditions and unpolished,. This procedure would have in fact risked to alter the shape of the case and Llano’s initials engraved on the back.
The next step was to immediately contact Vacheron Constantin to tell the news and collect as many information as possible about “Don Pancho”’s history. That was made possible only thanks to the meticulous care from the manufacturer, that archived information about every single watch that was sold.
From the archived paperwork, a fascinating and old-fashioned history was discovered.
The watch was commissioned in 1936 to the Genevan maison by a Spanish businessman living in Chile, Francisco Martinez Llano, that wanted a wristwatch incorporating typical pocket watches complications and yet easy to read.
Vacheron required a discrete amount of time to create one of the most complicated wrist watches at the time. It was in fact delivered in 1940, with 6 additional straps and a spare Breguet numerals black dial, and held by Llano until his death in 1947.
The price was also a record setter, costing a total of 3.750 Swiss Francs, a huge amount of money for the time.
After the owner’s death, the watch was stored in the family safe for almost 60 years, before being brought back to light.
Unluckily the safe wasn’t waterproof, and humidity made it into the case damaging the dial and the movement over the years.
That being said, Phillips faced another delicate challenge, deciding who to entrust to bring the watch back to its original shine. In the end, the most natural choice was, even to our opinion, to “bring it back home” after almost 80 years.
Vacheron Constantin performed a superb restauration of the movement, even sourcing the original machinery available in the 40s.
For the dial, a clever and unusual choice was made.
Along with the original dial, that shows evident humidity marks but can’t be touched up (in typical vintage style) a faithful copy was made. The lucky winner will then decide which dial he prefers to fit, based on his personal taste.
Phillips’ estimated value for the sale of the “Don Pancho” ranges from 400.000 to 800.000 Swiss Francs(352.000-704.00 €). By the way, since world’s biggest collectors will be battling each other, the winning price could be significantly higher. In any case, we’re pretty sure we won’t see this timepiece on the market again any soon, being the end point of every vintage haute horology collector.
Translated by Lorenzo Spolaor (@itsdoc_oclock)
