{"product_id":"vacheron-constantin-7931-automatic-18k-yellow-gold-basket-weave-dial","title":"Vacheron Constantin 7931 Automatic - 18K Yellow Gold Basket Weave Dial","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eGold Made To Behave Like Cloth\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eVacheron Constantin spent the 1970s producing gold dress watches with an intensity that is easy to overlook now that the decade is remembered mostly for steel. This reference is one of the strongest arguments for looking again. The basket weave is not a stamped pattern but a built structure, many small gold elements assembled so the bracelet moves and drapes like woven fabric while remaining solid metal. It is the sort of work the oldest continuously operating watch manufacturer could take on because it had already been doing it for two centuries.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOne Idea, Carried All The Way Through\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eWhat makes this example hold together is that nothing breaks the theme. The weave runs through the bracelet, into the case, and straight across the champagne dial, which carries the identical texture at a smaller scale. There is no point where the watch stops and the jewelry starts. Turn it under a light and the entire surface animates at once, dial and bracelet together, which is the effect the design was built to produce and the reason it still looks like nothing else.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerfect Dial, Extended Bracelet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eOverall this watch is in very good condition. The 18k yellow gold case is unpolished and shows light wear consistent with its age. The champagne weave dial is perfect. The bracelet is excellent in function and structure, with some heat discoloration visible in places, and its length was increased at some point through an addition of gold links topped with hand carving that follows the original weave closely enough to read as part of it. As with every watch we offer, this piece has been verified as mechanically sound and is ready to wear.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBought For The Bracelet\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eSome collectors buy movements and some buy dials. This one is for the collector who turns a watch over and studies how the bracelet was made. It is a Vacheron Constantin from the period when the house was building integrated gold at the outer limit of what could be done by hand, in a size that reads classic rather than small. There is no modern equivalent, because nobody is putting this many hours into a bracelet anymore.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eKey Specs\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eReference:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7931\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eModel:\u003c\/strong\u003e Automatic Integrated Basket Weave\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eYear:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1970s\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMovement:\u003c\/strong\u003e Automatic\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eCase Size:\u003c\/strong\u003e 31mm\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBezel:\u003c\/strong\u003e 18k Yellow Gold\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBracelet:\u003c\/strong\u003e 18k Yellow Gold Integrated Basket-Weave\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eBracelet Length:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7-7.25in\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDial:\u003c\/strong\u003e Champagne Weave\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMetal:\u003c\/strong\u003e 18k Yellow Gold\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eSKU:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1493\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vacheron Constantin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55454004904227,"sku":"11493","price":19500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0889\/6099\/1523\/files\/DSCF2550_542569d6-1b34-42b8-91fd-aa037a2d6eb3.jpg?v=1786379051","url":"https:\/\/dannysvintagewatches.com\/products\/vacheron-constantin-7931-automatic-18k-yellow-gold-basket-weave-dial","provider":"Danny's Vintage Watches","version":"1.0","type":"link"}