The oldest watch manufacturer in the world, founded in Geneve, Switzerland in 1775 by Jean-Marc Vacheron. A talented craftsman, Vacheron created the first complication and nine years later designed the first engine-turned dials. In 1785, the company was taken over by Vacheron¡¯s son, Abraham, who managed to keep the company afloat throughout the French Revolution. In 1810, the company is passed on to the grandson of the founder, Jacques-Barthelemy, who expanded the company to France and Italy. With the company expanding to all-time heights, Vacheron realized he needed assistance with the growing company. In 1819, Vacheron partnered with Francois Constantin and thus, the name was born. Vacheron held down the factory, while Constantin traveled the world marketing the brand with the slogan that still remains today: ¡°Do better if possible and that is always possible¡±. In 1839, Vacheron and Constantin hired on inventor, Georges-Auguste Leschot, who became the first person to standardize movements into calibers. Yet another example of Leschot¡¯s genius came about in 1844. He was awarded the gold medal from the Arts Society of Geneve for the invention of his pantographic device, which mechanically engraved small watch parts and dials. This invention drastically changed the watch industry. After Constantin's death in 1854, and Vacheron's death in 1863, the company was taken over by a series of heirs. At one point, the company was headed by two women. After twenty years of membership in the Association for Research into Non-Magnetic Materials, Vacheron and Constantin created the first nonmagnetic timepiece which included a complete lever assortment made of materials impenatrable to magnetic fields. Its construction included a balance wheel, balance spring and lever shaft that were made of palladium, the lever arms in bronze and the escape wheel was in gold. In 1887, the company adopted its trademarked symbol, the maltese cross. Vacheron Constantin opened the first boutique in Geneve in 1906, which still remains today. The company, like many others, was almost done in during the great depression. However, Charles Constantin stepped in, becoming the first family descendant, since the 1850¡¯s, to head the company. With his business and creativity, Vacheron and Constantin became resurrected and continued to thrive in the watchmaking industry. The company continued to thrive, except hitting a bump in the road during World War II, when sales decreased. In 1970, the ¡°and¡± was dropped from the name and changed to just Vacheron Constantin. Around nine years later, the company created, what many enthusiasts consider to be the most expensive watch ever made, the Kallista. It was made in 1979 and its initial price was $5 million. Today, however, the watch is valued at about $11 million. The watch encompassed 118 emerald-cut diamonds, and took 6,000 hours to create. VC is now owned by Richmonte Group.