Vacheron Constantin was founded in 1755, and stands as the oldest watch company in Geneva, a location very well known for its watch making tradition. Jean-Marc Vacheron was merely 24 years old when he founded this company. He strived to create high-quality, elegant watches, and accomplished this task very efficiently throughout his career. Vacheron Constantin is also known for its most expensive watch in watch making history, the “Kallista”, which means “the most wonderful,” and is now priced at over $10 million today. Vacheron’s son, Abraham, began managing the company in 1785, and by 1814, Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron had total control of it. He realized he could not manage the company by himself, and decided to continue the business with a partner. In 1819, Francois Constantin became a partner, and the name “Vacheron and Constantin” came about. Georges-Auguste Leschot was hired to become the technical director, which allowed the company to save a large amount of money. After Francois Constantin’s death in 1854, numerous people ran the company. Both Charles Vacheron’s and Jacques Barthelemy Vacheron’s widow’s took over the company upon the demise of their husbands, and sufficiently ran the company for a prolonged amount of time. In 1877, the name “Vacheron & Constantin, Fabricants, Geneve” was adopted, and Jean-Francois Constantin became a partner of the firm. This was also the time in which the Maltese cross was adopted as the official trademark of the company, the same trademark that is still used today. The company went through rough times, especially during the Great Depression. Vacheron Constantin bounced back and sales improved after the Depression, and continues today as one of the most famous watch making companies in the world.