Here at SwissWatchExpo, we're often asked about the differences between the Vacheron
Constantin Overseas generation two versus generation three.
We've got a few of the chronographs here that we've got in stock, and I'm gonna show you
the differences.
Coming up.
Fresh from the showcase here at SwissWatchExpo.
We're talking about some of the incredible Vacheron Constantin Overseas watches we have.
And we've got a lot of generation two and generation three here.
A lot of people ask us the differences between them.
And I'll tell you, it's interesting.
If you look back at the history of the Overseas, it really is very closely related to the Audemars
Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus.
The Overseas traces its history back to the model 222 from Vacheron Constantin, which
came out in 1977.
So this model is almost 40 years old.
Definitely celebrating their anniversaries with the other sports luxury watches that
we've talked about.
And so they've got just as great a heritage as the other watches.
In fact, all three of them at one point shared a movement base.
It was the Jaeger-LeCoultre 920.
The JLC 920 was used on both the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and the Patek Philippe Nautilus
as well as the Vacheron Constantin 222.
So they've all matured since then, of course, the pressure to produce move in-house has
come to every watch company and no one is ever concerned about a Valjoux-powered Rolex
Daytona or a Zenith-powered Rolex Daytona.
It was never a point of embarrassment or a slide against the company when they used to
make movements that were not entirely in-house.
But now that the world has changed and there's the pressure to do that, of course, Vacheron
Constantin has followed suit.
But with these watches, it's very interesting.
The generation two was made from 2004 to 2016, and that would be these four at the bottom.
In 2016, they launched the generation three, which is these two here at the top.
So we'll talk about the differences between them.
It's a reference 49150 on the generation two.
And when you look at this watch, you'll see that the bezel affixes directly to the case.
There are eight of these Maltese cross sort of stations around the bezel, and they don't
go all the way to the edge.
When you unscrew the crown, it sort of unscrews to a wide margin.
Also, when you unscrew the pushers for the chronograph, they really screw out a long
way.
The movement is not entirely in-house but it's okay.
It's a phenomenal movement.
It has a soft iron shield.
So it's anti-magnetic.
It even tells you on the dial, it says automatic anti-magnetic.
And it's a great feature of the watch.
The casebacks are engraved with this sort of ocean-going engraving that looks like a
tall-masted sailing ship.
And it tells you that the watch is a Vacheron Constantin Overseas.
So, these are great watches.
The movements operate very similarly to other chronographs.
Simple start, stop, and reset on the chronograph.
The dates are big and they are double aperture right under 12 o'clock.
And you can see, we have a lot of different dial combinations.
We have the gray deep stream.
We have the one that is most closely related to the Tapisserie dial that you see from the
Audemars Piguet Royal Oak.
It has a texture to it in silver.
A lot of people will argue for one or the other.
I think they're both incredible, but I do tend to like the Vacheron designs better than
any of the other luxury sports brands.
So I'll come through a little bit for you here.
The blue dial, it's a really rich color and the sub-dials are also blue.
So I really like the look of this one.
And if I were going to pick just one, it would probably be this one.
The fourth entry here we have of the second generation is this one that's kind of got
that racing look to it because it has a silver dial with red chronograph hands.
And I love the way they stand out.
It's really a great look and I'm sure you'll love that one if you put it on your wrist.
So then we moved to the generation three.
The generation three watches came out in 2016.
There were reference 5500V and you'll notice right off that there's sort of this splint
that's attached to the case that has a high polish edge to it.
And it's brushed on top that then the bezel attached is two.
So it gives it a little more depth, a little more heft than the Gen two watch has.
It also only has six of these Maltese cross stations versus the eight.
The overall watch is a little bit thicker.
It's got a little more heft to it.
although all of them are 42 and a half millimeters in diameter.
You wouldn't necessarily know it from the feel of this one because it does have a heavier
bracelet.
The watch itself is heavier, and you can see the two dials we've got here are a reverse
Panda and a blue.
You'll notice that they've relocated the date from being the big date at 12 to a smaller
date aperture between 4 and 5and the three sub-dials are equal-sized.
Where on the gen two, the bottom one at 6 o'clock is actually a little bit smaller.
So some aesthetic differences there.
That aside it is a completely in-house movement.
It's a column-wheel chronograph, they've added an exhibition caseback so that you can see
that movement in all its glory with the gold rotor, with the compass rose, and the different
polishes and finishes.
It has a satin and a high polish.
These all have the Geneva seal.
So definitely one of the highest grade watches made.
For me, if you put stack this up against a Nautilus or an Aquanaut, or against a Royal
Oak and you just hold them next to each other, I think that the design of this watch is just
exemplary and beautiful.
You'll also see on the blue dialed one, the blue finish is different than the Gen 2.
It really has a depth to it.
It's a fascinating dial color because when you see how the light plays off of it, it
has a look to it that I really haven't seen replicated from any other watch company.
So tell us what you think, give us a call, see which of these we still have in stock.
The last time I checked, we had about 75 different Overseas models in stock.
So we are Overseas crazy here at SwissWatchExpo.
Our owner could wear anything that he wants for the last 12 years.
At least I know he wears an Overseas every day as his own everyday personal watch.
He says that it's one of the best-made watches that he's ever seen.
So big kind of tag of endorsement from an absolute renowned genius watchmaker in the
watch world.
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