Maison Vacheron Constantin in Shanghai Vacheron Constantin honored by the 2009 UNESCO
Vacheron Constantin, the world’s oldest watch manufacture with more than 250 years of uninterrupted history, has been honored with an Award of Merit decerned by the 2009 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards for Culture Heritage Conservation program for the exceptional restoration of its Mansion in Shanghai - 796 Huai Hai Lu.
The Vacheron Constantin Mansion in Shanghai staged its Grand Opening in October 2008 to propagate the Brand’s centuries-old tradition in high-end watchmaking. Today, it represents the spirit of heritage and tradition in the Vacheron Constantin Mansion through the architecture, antique clocks, showroom timepieces and thematic exhibition, to deliver the true significance of time and to unveil the real allure that art has given time.
Dating back to the 1920s, the neo-classical twin villas at 796 Huai Hai Lu, were built by comprador Mr. Jiang Bing Sheng. The first villa, on the east side, was built in 1921, and its twin on the west in 1927. During renovation process, little has changed about the elegant garden houses: they have been lovingly restored with great attention to detail, right down to the original staircase and stained-glass windows, reviving the sumptuous heritage architecture, Mr. Filippo Gabbiani and Mr. Andrea Destefanis, chief architects of Kokaistudios, bestow life and soul to these buildings.