Vacheron Constantin Overseas Gen 1 42042

 

The first-generation Vacheron Constantin Overseas, launched in 1996, marked VC's modern sports-luxe era, evolving from the iconic 222 with designs by Dino Modolo and Vincent Kauffman, featuring robust 37mm (Ref. 42040/42042) and 35mm (Ref. 42050/42052) cases, integrated bracelets with Maltese Cross motifs, COSC-certified Caliber1310/1311 movements, and 150m water resistance, defining the collection until the second generation's arrival around 2004. 

Key Characteristics & History:

• Inspiration: Directly evolved from the 1977 Vacheron Constantin 222, continuing the integrated bracelet sports watch trend alongside competitors like the Royal Oak and Nautilus .
• Launch & Design: Introduced in 1996, the design featured a distinctive Maltese Cross bezel and bracelet links, housing an automatic movement.
• Movement: Powered by the COSC-certified automatic Caliber 1310 (later upgraded to Caliber 1311) based on the Girard Perregaux 3100, with an 18k gold rotor and hacking seconds.
• References & Sizes:
• Ref. 42040/42042: The main 37mm model.
• Ref. 42050: A smaller, mid-size 35mm version.
• Ref 42052 Smaller 24mm quartz and rare left-handed versions also existed.
• Ref. 42040 (37mm) and ref. 42050 (35mm) were the first to be produced. The reference number changed to ref. 42042 (37mm) and ref. 42052 (35mm) when the movement was upgraded from the caliber 1310  to the caliber 1311. Both case sizes share the same movement and we’ll look at this in detail later on.
• The change in caliber denotes the reference. It is unknown when the movement upgrade took place however it is presumed to be early in the production making the 40 & 50 models few and far between. There are examples of transitional pieces that were constructed during the upgrade period making it rare but not impossible for a ref. 42040 to house cal. 1311
• Production: The first generation ran from 1996 to approximately 2004.
• Success: The Overseas was a significant commercial success, revitalizing VC's sports watch segment and establishing a foundation for future generations

Dial

Sigma’, ‘T Swiss Made T’ & ‘Swiss Made’

The first first batch of dials for the ref. 42040(2) and ref. 42050(2) were generally ‘Sigma’ stamped at the 6 o’clock marker featuring Tritium lume. Interestingly Patek and Vacheron were last to use ‘Sigma’ on their dials before moving to ‘T Swiss Made T’.

There is no clear date when ‘T Swiss Made T’ first appeared on the dial. It is a common misconception that all ref. 42040 are ‘Sigma’ signed and all ref. 42042 are ‘T Swiss Made T’ signed, this is not the case, the reference change was linked to the movement upgrade. ‘Sigma’ dials have been seen on ref. 42042 models up to early 2000’s with some of the later examples also featuring Luminova.

Finally the ‘Swiss Made’ dial featured at the very end of production with Luminova permanently replacing Tritium. These dials have also been found on service replacements.

Movement

Cal 1310

For the ref. 42040 and ref. 42050 Vacheron Constantin took the Girard Perregaux cal 3100 based ebauche, renamed as their own cal 1310 and COSC certified. The cal 1310 features a gold rotor weight, and 27 jewels. It’s automatic, has a quick-set date function, hacking seconds and a 46 hours power reserve. Total height of the ultra thin movement was around 3mm.

Introduction of the Cal 1311

The strengthened cal 1311 was Vacheron Constantin’s revision of the cal 1310. This is believed to have taken place not long after production of the 1st generation Overseas' began. This change increased the thickness of the movement by 0.3 mm however no change was made to either case for ref. 42042 or ref. 42052. The modification is thought to be made due to flex in the main plate so reinforcement was added.

Case Back

Signature feature of the Overseas collection, a solid case-back adorned with a depiction of the famous Amerigo Vespucci three-masted ship. Seen as a symbol of the world’s greatest sailors travels and an open invitation to travel the seven seas in-fitting with the brand story for the Overseas collection.

 

Collection Item

1.      Early pieces is best

2.      Pink Gold 42042 told was made 5 pieces

3.      Left hand crown told was made three pieces were made

4.      Salmon Dial is rare

5.      White dial with creamy patina Guilloche is adorable

6.      Blue is next choice

7.      Collect them all is what a real collector should consider

 

Comment

I love the engraving on the case back, as a sport watch should not having see -through bottom, that is totally wrong concept as that is not a dress watch for showing the polishing works.

The cost should be taken in account when producing this 42042 with a Engraved bottom plate. None of the Holy Trinity will do it nowadays unless they make a bespoke version for you.

Vacheron Constantin in Hong Kong is being a well underrated brand as mots people goes Patek or Audemars Piguet. Well, I think VC is the oldest Swiss watch maker and had years of producing beautiful watches, amongst them I like Vacheron Constantin and happy to see their price is now as high as other two brands.

Last, always take 42042 as first choice.

What piece do you like most ?

 

Paul Ip