Throwback Thursday: Vacheron Constantin Patrimony

The Patrimony is one of the original classic watches, a flagship model of the world’s oldest watch brand, Vacheron Constantin (founded 1755). The Patrimony Traditionnelle Chronograph was one of the original manual wound classics. This forerunner of the Patrimony Chronograph has a 30-minute totalizer at 3 o’clock, and a tachymeter scale. There are also a couple of features, used in conjunction with the chronograph function, that made it a useful watch for medical doctors (or athletic trainers). It has a pulsometer, which can be used to measure pulse rate – graduated for 30 beats, which is written on the dial in French – and an asthmometer, which can be used to measure a patient’s respiration. The case is yellow gold with a grained silver dial, with baton hands.