Vacheron Constantin 222

For the watch industry, the 1970s was a decade of great change — from within as well as without — and even Vacheron Constantin, stalwart member of the Big Three, wasn’t immune. The 1969 introduction of the Seiko Astron, the world’s first commercially available quartz wristwatch, sent tremors throughout the industry. Though quartz in and of itself was not a new technology, the Astron’s application of it was revolutionary. Both visually and internally, the Astron was something the industry hadn’t seen before, with a distinctive case shape to house the quartz movement. Attempts by big Swiss manufacturers to release a quartz watch of their own — the Beta 21 — met with failure. As sales of Swiss watches dipped and as a looming oil crisis gripped the worldwide economy, Swiss manufacturers realized that they had to develop something truly unique if they wished to stay afloat. Thus Audemars Piguet tapped the brilliant mind of Gérald Genta to design the Royal Oak in 1972, while Patek Philippe f