- 4/4/09
- 2,131
- 29
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Here's a rep that snuck up on a lot of people--including me: The Vacheron Constantin Overseas "Deep Stream".
I've long been a fan of the Vacheron Constantin Overseas, but felt I'd missed the boat by not buying the old rep based on the first-generation model of 1996. You've probably seen it before: It's the one with Arabic numerals circling the dial, date at 3, and a lovely caseback that wouldn't look out of place on a bottle of microbrew. I also seem to remember some sellers carrying a 1st-gen Overseas rep with stick markers, though I don't recall any reviews of one. In any case, it was a remarkable rep that disappeared too soon, and was elevated to legendary status.
Fast forward several years and there were at least two reps based on VC's 2004 update of the Overseas. This revamp bumped the diameter up to 42mm, and restyled the mid-case and bracelet to echo the brand's Maltese Cross logo. The dials were cleaned up: Numerals and sticks on a white or black guilloché background, date at 4:30, and a sloping minute track on the rehaut. The ideal build would involve taking the Cross appliance from one factory's dial and transplanting it onto the other factory's more accurate rep. I found it to be too much work and expense for a rep that didn't really grab hold of me.
In 2009, VC refreshed the Overseas with a titanium bezel, an anthracite dial (read: gray sunburst), and an optional, integrated gray crocodile strap. For nebulous reasons, this model was codenamed or nicknamed "Deep Stream", which sounds more like a new Intel chipset than anything to do with haute horlogerie. But it's a good, catchy name that shows a bit more imagination than something like "Overseas Gray Themes".
The first time I saw a rep of the Deep Stream was when dylan put his own example up for sale a few months ago. None of the major sellers had listed this rep before, so I had no way of researching its quality or comparing its price. But I missed it. I kicked myself for weeks afterward, and it seems I wasn't alone. Others were ringing their favorite dealers to see if there were more Deep Streams in China. There were.
This one came from Tony at Asian7750.com. I had never bought anything from Tony before, but others had confirmed that he had these in stock. This transaction was trouble-free: Good communications, fast shipment, would use again. For a small fee (+15%), I also ordered the gray "croc" strap and deployant, both of which you can see below.
Let's go to the pictures!
The Deep Stream is a beautiful rep with a tremendous amount of presence on the wrist. Switching from bracelet to croc tones down the flash considerably, but looks very impressive, nonetheless. It's a credible, subtle alternative to a ROO or HBB, both of which are too large for my 6.5" wrist, anyway.
However, I hesitate to call this a super-rep. There's plenty of room for improvement when it comes to accuracy to the gen, though I have little problem with this rep in that respect. Where I am a bit disappointed is in the fit and finish, which aren't up to the standards we've come to expect in recent reps (e.g. Panerais in 2011). In many ways, this VCO represents the Old School of rep construction and compromised expectations.
Here we see a bit of the good and bad. On the left: The jagged, blasted titanium bezel contrasts nicely with the straight-brushed surface. The slab sides of the steel mid-case are polished and well-chamfered. But look at the block under the crown: What's with the slanted brushing? The undersized cross on the crown is another minor concern.
On the right is the single ugliest part of this rep: the caseback. Once beautifully engraved on the 37mm rep, the Amerigo Vespucci is now a ghost ship sailing through the murk. Text and numbers are superficially etched, and what you can't see at the bottom is the mis-spelled "ANTIMACNETIC". Also notice the mangled heads of the caseback screws. (They came that way.) These screws are made of very soft steel, so make sure you use the drivers with the appropriate tips.
The gray strap is stiff, and a pain in the ass to mount onto the head. You have to drive four long screws into a solid piece of plastic wedged inside the lug-tips of the strap. I ended up twirling a drill bit between my fingers to sink some guide holes. The strap does look good and remarkably credible, as does the half-cross clasp. Its geometry is best suited to larger wrists, though.
Here are some examples of what I mean by poor fit and finish, going clockwise from the upper-left:
- Note the ragged line between the central portion of the mid-case, and the lugs.
- Close-up of the inside of the bracelet's clasp. Those are sharp edges and pointy corners on the pushbuttons, and they wear painfully on my wrist. I had my watchsmith grind these smooth.
- Mind the gap between the lugs and the rest of the mid-case, and the misaligned bevel.
- More rough edges that show up very clearly under certain lights. I fixed the worst cases with an emery board.
Bog-standard Asian ETA, but guess what? It's lost 10 seconds in the last three days, making it one of the most accurate watches I own--rep or gen. I'm not sure how the gen is constructed, but do note the absence of any seals. (The caseback is similarly gasket-free.) Wet the VCO at your peril.
Despite its 42mm size, the VCO wears like a smaller watch. It has a low center of gravity with a slim, low case that has a big contact patch on my wrist. With the most painful points of the clasp removed, the bracelet is one of the most comfortable I own.
I just noticed the tiny fibers sticking out from the side of the bezel. The downside of this design is that all the sharp corners are fuzz magnets, but it's only obvious in macro photographs.
The smart-looking and now-comfortable butterfly clasp. There's a half-link provided to aid in fitting, and every link of the bracelet can be unscrewed.
The dial is absolutely stunning. The printing doesn't quite hold up at this level of magnification, but it looks great on the wrist. The framed date window is the biggest deviation from the gen, but to the rep factory's credit, it looks good and makes sense.
That's more like it! Back away by even a few inches and the illusion of a $10,000 watch starts to materialize.
I do wish that the weaknesses I listed would be addressed, and I would definitely pony up for a V2 in a heartbeat. But this is an excellent rep as it is, and has a bigger "Wow!" factor than many of my other watches.
The thing to remember about this VCO rep is not to fixate on the details. This may run counter to many of our instincts as rep collectors, but do try to apprehend the overall look of the watch, instead. Let flash and beauty overwhelm the urge to pick nits that only you will notice. This is one great-looking watch!
