A friend of mine recently found his grandad’s watch that he was given during the war (assuming WW2), but is not able to identify what it is. The watch was given to his grandad by another soldier (possibly a foreign one)
There doesn’t seem to be any markings to signify the manufacturer, although looks like a gold hallmark. I have attached a number of photos below, so hopefully there are some experts on here that can help shed some light on this
Nice dial.
Looks similar to chronograph Suisse marked examples of the period. Often 18kt gold cases but very thin so not a huge amount of gold content. If the top button starts it and the bottom stops and resets, likely a Landeron movement.
Black dial definitely adds to its desirability.
Foggy
Very similar to a Vintage Chronographe Suisse possibly some redial?
lol took to long to find and upload an image already answered in post above.
Last edited by Orgone Accumulator; 4th January 2019 at 19:10. Reason: To Slow
The case looks like it was made by the Swiss company Jung & Cie, according to the Poinçon de Maître.
http://http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/swisspdm.php
A trawl through the Ranfft archive might help identify the movement - if you're starting from the premise of Chronograph Suisse I would start by looking at Landeron and Venus movements but it might be something of a needle in a haystack.
In the Sotadic Zone, apparently.
Thanks for the info so far.
From what I am told, the crystal pops off so you can access the dial. It also has two case backs. Not sure if this was standard practice to help prevent dirt and grime getting into the movement. I will ask if the chrono works as suggested below
The crystal pops off because the bezel on these is so thin. It’s not an intentional design feature ;-)Originally Posted by mtagrant
Normal to have the inner and outer cases on these. The reason for the metal inner is for strength as the 18kt gold on the outer one is painfully thin and has no structural support capabilities.
Foggy
^^^ I'll second that; mine has the gold outer caseback held on with Blutak!
Cool watch!! Your friend is a lucky man.Is it running?
Sorry can't help you but it's very nice looking watch.
Looks like good information thanks all, and confirmation from my mate that it is working fine
Top button does start and bottom stops and resets, so does look like the Landeron movement
Haha - nice design feature
Yes, all running fine
Haha - good to know :)
Appreciate the info guys...Very similar to a Vintage Chronographe Suisse possibly some redial?
lol took to long to find and upload an image already answered in post above.
If it is, or at least similar to, the Chronograph Suisse that has been suggested the second case back may be the antimagnetic shell.
Sent from my SGP311 using TZ-UK mobile app
Agree that may well be a secondary function of it, but believe me, the case on its own, with the low gauge thickness of gold, would not be structurally sound without this inner metal section.
Foggy
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote