Vacheron Constantin finds itself in the enviable position of having far more demand for its watches than supply can immediately fill. The hand-crafted time pieces are produced by the company’s teams of craftsmen at a rate of only around 20,000 per year. And, Bouillonnec says, quality ensures that will not change any time soon.
“If we want to make more watches it is very simple,’’ he says. “We don’t hire machines, we hire people. People make our watches and to develop a good watch maker takes more than 10 years. So we need time, we need to plan. Sometimes this is difficult for our clients to appreciate – that they may have to wait for their watch, sometimes up to 12 months.
“But all great things take time and the rewards in the end are worth it. There is really only one way to learn watch-making and that is the traditional way. You have to practice every day – in that way it is like golf. You need to learn the basics or you cannot develop.’’
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