Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo and Vacheron Constantin announce the 34 Finalist Watches

The jury of The Concours d’Élégance Horlogère jury has shortlisted 34 watches from more than 550 entries. The seven winners will be honoured at a ceremony on 10 November 2026 in Geneva.
 The Concours d’Élégance Horlogère offers the public a unique opportunity to discover rarely seen horological treasures, including some previously unknown. The 34 finalist watches will be presented to the public from 4 to 8 November in Geneva, before they return to their proud owners.
 The event pays tribute to the heritage of watchmaking and celebrates the passion of enthusiasts and collectors from around the world. 

“Dedicated to the world of watchmaking and specifically to Vacheron Constantin, this first Concours d’Élégance is a rare opportunity for our clients to share their passion for our Maison’s creations. Our aim was to engage the community of Vacheron Constantin watch collectors and enthusiasts, and we have had a fantastic response, with an impressive number of entries in all seven categories. This includes watches that are not only remarkable but also rare and, in some cases, the only known example of their kind. The high number of entries and exceptional quality of the shortlisted watches presented the jury members with some real challenges in selecting the winners. There were some lively discussions!” 

Christian SELMONI 

“Driven by its own history, each watch on display has made this first Concours d’Élégance Horlogère truly remarkable. It is a dream for me to take part in such an event in our field of expertise. I was deeply moved to discover the number of entries, having been completely unprepared for such an enthusiastic response from the international community. As the quality of the watches was so exceptionally high, it proved almost impossible to weigh beauty against rarity, and incredibly difficult to strike the right balance between family history (inherent in a watch) and horological complexity. The jury nevertheless succeeded, which is a great achievement!” 

Aurel BACS 

WATCHMAKING TREASURES, HEIRS TO A BYGONE ERA

Vacheron Constantin and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo announce the 35 finalist watches – five in each category – that will be exhibited at the Hôtel Président Wilson in Geneva from 4 to 8 November 2026, during the auction week organised by Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo.

The seven winning watches selected by the jury will be revealed on 10 November at the Hôtel Président Wilson in Geneva during the official awards ceremony, which may also see an eighth prize, Best in Show – the Jury’s Special Prize. At the initiative of Phillips in association with Bacs & Russo, the Vacheron Constantin Concours d’Élégance Horlogère is part of a wider initiative to showcase historic, vintage and neo-vintage timepieces, some of which are little known. This competition – a first in Haute Horlogerie – is a potent and highly engaging means for Vacheron Constantin not only to celebrate and preserve the richness of its history, but also to pay tribute to the international community of enthusiasts and collectors who keep it alive.

Following the announcement of the competition in early 2026, a total of more than 550 entries were submitted by their owners, comprising pocket watches and wristwatches created in the Maison’s workshops between 1755 and 1999.The competition comprises seven categories:
–    Chronographs
–    Métiers d’Art
–    Chronomètre Royal
–    Astronomical Complications
–    Multiple Complications
–    Design 
–    Chiming mechanisms

The close collaboration between Vacheron Constantin and Phillips in Association with Bacs & Russo ensured that, under sworn supervision, the jury members made an individual and collective assessment of each of the candidate watches, revealing their deep knowledge of the field as well as their unrivalled technical expertise.

The submitted watches – more than 550 of them – were first carefully examined by Vacheron Constantin’s master watchmakers and experts from the Heritage department. This initial phase verified the authenticity, eligibility, documentation or certification of each piece, as well as its suitability for the intended category.

Following this meticulous examination, the jury members were presented with an initial selection of 95 timepieces, chosen according to certain predefined criteria, such as the watch’s history and rarity and its impact on the watchmaking industry in general and Vacheron Constantin in particular. The jury members scrutinised the 95 shortlisted watches in detail, before awarding points to their favourite pieces in each of the categories. The combined result of these assessments identified 34 finalists: the five watches ranked highest in each of the seven categories. Among these pieces, some are rare treasures, offering Vacheron Constantin a valuable opportunity to enrich its knowledge of the history of these timepieces and to supplement its archives.

Click here to discover the 34 Finalist Watches