Marine Time Super deluxe, water resistant, 21, unbreakable mainspring, shockproof, special antimagnetic. Wow!! that's a lot of features for this vintage '60's manual would diver's looking watch. It looks good though!!
Vintage 1960's Longines Admiral 5 star, Automatic. Reference 2653-340 with applied waffle texted Bar/Baton markers.
Iconic & hot Seiko SKX007J diver's watch on jubilee bracelet featuring the workhorse movement 7S26. On it's way to becoming a vintage classic. The History of Bulova Watches: While Bulova may not be as well respected to seasoned collectors as some other manufacturers, they have a history which extends even beyond our planet! So, let’s step back in time to 19th Century New York City and learn about the history of Bulova watches. Bulova’s Beginnings: Joseph Bulova was a Czech immigrant who was only 23 years old when he originally founded Bulova. Initially Bulova was a modest jeweler store located on Maiden Lane in New York City, but by 1911 Bulova was manufacturing clocks and pocket watches which were selling in huge quantities. As he was having such success with his clocks and watches, Joseph Bulova launched a plant dedicated to producing Bulova watches in Switzerland. This plant produced watches at a level of standardized mass production which had never been seen before in the watch industry. 1875 Joseph Bulova, a 23-year-old Czech immigrant, opens a small jewelry shop on Maiden Lane in New York City. 1911 Bulova begins manufacturing and selling boudoir and table clocks as well as fine pocket watches. These pieces are sold in unprecedented numbers. 1912 Bulova sets up its first plant dedicated to the production of watch components and their assembly into jeweled movements in Bienne, Switzerland. 1919 During World War I, the convenience of wristwatches (as opposed to pocket watches) is discovered. In 1919 Bulova introduces the first full line of men's jeweled wristwatches. 1923 The name Bulova Watch Company, Inc. is adopted. Bulova perfects a new concept in the watch industry with total standardization of parts. Every part of a Bulova watch is made with such precision (standardized to the ten thousandth part of an inch) that it is interchangeable with the same part in any other Bulova watch. This revolutionizes the servicing of watches in the industry. 1924 Bulova unveils the first full line of ladies' watches, including diamond accented pieces. 1926 Bulova produces the nation's first ever radio spot commercial, "At the tone, its 8 PM, B-U-L-O-V-A Bulova watch time." 1927 In honor of Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic solo flight from New York to Paris, Bulova ships 5,000 Lone Eagle watches, packaged with pictures of Lindbergh. The supply is sold out within three days. During the next few years Bulova sells nearly 50,000 of these commemorative watches. 1927 is also the year Bulova Watch Company goes public on the American Stock Exchange. Bulova Watches Industry Firsts: Bulova were not just ahead of the game in terms of mass production of watches, they were also ahead of the game in other areas. They introduced the first complete line of jeweled wristwatches for men, then the first line of wristwatches for ladies, then the first line of diamond wristwatches. These 'firsts' helped ensure that Bulova were one of the biggest American watch manufacturers of the day. They were especially ahead of the game when it came to advertising. This started in 1926 when they ran their first national radio advertising campaign which featured the slogan “At the tone, it’s 8 p.m., B-U-L-O-V-A Bulova watch time.” Only five years later Bulova watches launched the industry’s first ever million-dollar advertising campaign, followed ten years later by the world’s first television commercial. The commercial aired before a Brooklyn Dodgers baseball game which proudly proclaimed that “America runs on Bulova time!” 1931 Bulova conducts the watch industry's first ever million-dollar advertising campaign. Throughout the Depression years, Bulova supports retailers by offering Bulova watches to buyers on time-payment plans. 1935 Joseph Bulova, founder of Bulova Watch Company, dies. Bulova in World War II: Bulova were involved heavily in military manufacturing during the Second World War, mainly in terms of producing high precision military watches. Their mass production facilities were used for other purposes as well, producing many other mechanisms for the war effort. Near the end of the war they opened the Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking which helped war veterans learn a trade for their return to civilian life. As the war ended Bulova were one of the most famous watchmakers in the United States. Within 10 years of the end of World War II sales had reached $80M per year and in the US if you didn’t already own a Bulova – you knew about them! 1941 Continuing its tradition of advertising firsts, Bulova airs the first television commercial: a simple picture of a clock and a map of the United States, with a voice-over proclaiming, "America runs on Bulova time." 1941 also marks the year that the Bulova Board of Directors adopts a resolution to manufacture products for national defense at actual cost. Throughout World War II, having perfected the skill of creating precision timepieces, Arde Bulova, Joseph's son, works with the U.S. government to produce military watches, specialized timepieces, aircraft instruments, critical torpedo mechanisms and fuses. 1945 The Joseph Bulova School of Watchmaking opens its doors to help disabled veterans learn watchmaking skills. 1948 Bulova begins developing the Photo timer, a unique combination of photo-finish camera and precision electronic timing instrument. 1950's Bulova develops a dating system for their watches. A letter followed by a number indicates the year of manufacture. L4=1954, M7=1967, N2=1972 and so on. The Bulova Accutron Range: One of the watch ranges which Bulova are most known for is their Accutron range. They used a tuning fork instead of a balance wheel as the timekeeping element which made them ultra-precise at a time before quartz watches. This technology pushed them to the cutting edge of the watchmaking world for most of the 1960’s. Unfortunately for Bulova, by the end of the 1960’s Japanese manufacturer Seiko brought the first quartz wristwatch – the Astron – to the market allowing them to make cheaper watches which were more precise. The Accutron was still a popular range during the 1970’s, especially with the release of the Spaceview Accutron. The Spaceview Accutron was one of the first mass produced visible movement watches, which came about by accident! The original idea was for these to be special display models of Bulova watches which would only be used by sales reps. The thinking was that by showing the inner workings of the watch the sales reps could impress the customers with the amazing timekeeping technology. After some of these visible movement watches were used in advertisements and by sales reps, customers started asking to buy them. Not one to let down their customers, Bulova started producing versions of these watches for customers, which were incredibly popular until production stopped in 1977. 1952 Bulova begins developing Accutron, the first breakthrough in timekeeping technology in over 300 years. Accutron, the first fully electronic watch, promises to keep time to within 2 seconds a day. 1953 Recognizing a new trend in the watch industry, the self-winding and shock-proof watch, Bulova adds more of this type of watch to its line. Also added this year is the Bulova Wrist-Alarm, an entirely new kind of watch. 1954 Bulova introduces the "Bulova 23," a self-winding, waterproof, 23-jewel watch with an unbreakable mainspring, made entirely in the United States. 1955 An A.C. Neilson Co. Survey reveals that Americans see more national advertising for Bulova products than for any other products, in any other industry, in the world. 1956 Bulova completes negotiations to co-sponsor the Jackie Gleason Show, a one-hour live television show airing Saturday night from eight to nine o'clock. This is the first time in history that any watch or jewelry allied industry has made a sponsorship commitment of such magnitude. 1959 Bulova offers an unprecedented 1-year warranty on all of its clock radios. The Wristwatch Space Race: As well as the well known the space race between the Soviet Union and the United States, there was another space race which also took place in the 60’s – between Bulova watches and Omega Watches. Unfortunately for Bulova, it was Omega who managed to secure the rights to produce the official space watch. But the story doesn’t end there. All the timekeeping mechanisms the first spacecraft to reach the moon were Bulova Accutrons, which were also used in 46 NASA missions. In fact, the United States government thought the technology in Accutron 214 movements were so important that they delayed Bulova’s commercial release of the movement to ensure the Soviet Union did not get their hands on it. The story took another twist in 1971 as, despite not being the official NASA watch, a Bulova watch did manage to make it onto the wrist of an astronaut on the moon. The mission commander of Apollo 15’s Omega watch was broken so he used his personal Bulova Chronograph for the mission. This watch managed to sell for $1.6 million at an auction in 2015. Thanks to the media coverage of this device, Bulova released a re-issued version of this chronograph which was unveiled at Baselworld 2016. 1960 NASA asks Bulova to incorporate Accutron into its computers for the space program. Bulova timing mechanisms eventually become an integral part of 46 missions of the U.S. Space Program. Also, in 1960, Bulova reintroduces its redeveloped Photo timer clock, improved with updated photographic and electronic technologies. It features an infrared sensing element patterned after those used on heat-seeking missiles. Mounted on the starter's pistol, the Photo timer senses the flash of the gun and starts a timer clock at the same instant that the runners leave their marks. 1961 Accutron, the first watch to keep time through electronics, is introduced. It is the most spectacular breakthrough in timekeeping since the invention of the wrist watch. This revolutionary timekeeping concept of a watch without springs or escapement is operated by an electronically activated tuning fork. The Accutron watch goes on to become a presidential gift to world leaders and other dignitaries. President Johnson declares it the White House's official "Gift of State." 1962 The Accutron Tuning-fork watch becomes the first wristwatch certified for use by railroad personnel. 1962 is also the year that Bulova introduces its Caravelle line of jeweled watches. Designed to retail at $10.95 to $29.95, Caravelle competes with non-jeweled watches in the same price range. 1967 Accutron clocks are the only clocks aboard Air Force One. 1968 The Bulova Satellite Clock, the world's first public clock to display time controlled by time signals broadcast by orbiting satellites, is inaugurated by Gustavo Diaz Ordaz, President of Mexico. The clock is installed atop the Torre Latino Americana, Mexico's tallest skyscraper. 1968 also marks the year that Caravelle becomes the largest selling jeweled-movement watch in the United States. 1969 An Accutron watch movement is part of the equipment placed on the moon by Apollo 11 astronauts, the first men on the moon. A Bulova timer is placed in the moon's "Sea of Tranquility" to control the transmissions of vital data through the years. Bulova Watches Today: Bulova watches continued to be popular throughout the 1970’s, despite issues in the boardroom. The company became a part of the Loews Corporation in 1979 with the hope that this would help bring some stability to the company. Unfortunately, things weren’t all that plain sailing in the 1980’s with the company reporting massive losses. The 1990’s did not start too promisingly either, with the company facing fierce competition from international companies. The famous brand name still held sway with customers and this helped the company increase their profits. The brand continued to grow throughout the rest of the 90’s and into the 21st Century. In 2008 Citizen bought the Bulova Watch Company, making Citizen the largest watch company in the world. Shortly afterwards Bulova watches brought to the market a high precision quartz watch called the Precisionist which sported a beautiful sweeping hand. They also became the official timekeeper for Manchester United in 2013, producing incredible watches for the world-famous football club. Bulova are a brand with a great history who continue to innovate and differentiate themselves from the competition. What’s next for Bulova is hard to tell, but their next innovation is never far away and we’re looking forward to seeing what it is! Present: Bulova today is owned by CITIZEN CORP. They are still making excellent mid-priced watches. If you ask your grandparents or great grandparents, they will have fond memories of Wittnauer. The company was founded in 1885 by Albert Wittnauer, a Swiss immigrant, in New York USA who at 16 years old he was already a highly skilled watchmaker. Long known and highly regarded, Wittnauer watches are among the most sought-after vintage brands because of quality material and engineering that will last a lifetime.
Unlike other US watch companies, such as Hamilton for example, Wittnauer focused less on movement manufacturing and more on importing already well respected Swiss movements and making them relevant in the American market. But is wasn't wristwatches that helped gained Wittnauer's reputation as a reliable source of timing instruments. In fact, Wittnauer was involved in producing timing instruments during the first world war for aviation units, one of the first watch firms to focus on instruments for aviation military use. Another first to be noted, it is documented that when the last Wittnauer brother died in 1916, Martha Wittnauer became the first women watchmaker CEO in history and led the company through remarkable successes in technical navigation and timing instruments in aviation. Wittnauer's technical expertise and reliability, quickly earned them among the top choices for navigators. explorers and astronomers. In 1926, NBC chose Wittnauer as the official source of timing instruments for radio broadcasting. Also, around the same time, Amelia Earhart's famous flight across the Atlantic was with the help of her Wittnauer flight instruments. It should also be noted that Wittnauer, with the help of their partner Longines, was one of the only three contenders for an official NASA man on the moon certified chronograph, along with Rolex and the title holder Omega. Fast-forward to 1950, Wittnauer decided to sell the company to one of their Swiss partners, the highly respected Longines Watch Co. From the 1950s all the way through to the conception of the quartz watch, Longines successfully ran the Wittnauer company and produced several notable wristwatches, usually for the American market. After the dawn of the quartz watch, and serious financial problems due to the lack of interest in mechanical movements, it was the Swatch Group that purchased Longines in 1995 and sold Wittnauer to Bulova shortly thereafter. Today, the company is virtually nonexistent, and the brand is dormant under the leadership of Bulova which is now owned by Citizen. It's interesting how an industry can completely unravel with the introduction of a new technology, in this case, quartz watches. What's more interesting is the reemergence of fine mechanical watches and the powerhouse market for mechanical watches that exists today. Unfortunately for Wittnauer, the brand, once stacked among the ranks of Rolex and Omega, is now nearly irrelevant. It's collectors, in the vintage market, that still know and respect the brand. Will today's generation ever hear the name Wittnauer? It's too soon to tell. But one thing is true, the walls are closing in on the opportunity for the brand to reemerge and it will take a Swiss firm to get the brand back from what now is Citizen. Wittnauer is truly a watch company rich in history and innovation and would make a fine new brand if done correctly and done by the Swiss of course. The History of Wittnauer 1872 Sixteen-year old Albert Wittnauer arrives in New York from Switzerland. Already a skilled watchmaker, young Wittnauer is to work for his brother-in-law, J. Eugene Robert, an importer of fine Swiss watches. 1874 Louis Wittnauer joins his older brother, Albert, in New York. The teenager also begins working for J. Eugene Robert. 1880 Convinced of the need for a watch designed expressly for the growing U.S. market, Albert Wittnauer creates the Wittnauer brand. Manufactured in Geneva, Switzerland, with all the functions and durability demanded by the American consumer, the Wittnauer brand, priced lower but as finely crafted as more expensive Swiss imports, is an instant success. 1885 Albert Wittnauer takes over the management of his brother-in-law’s importing company. The company continues to distribute several brands of Swiss watches as well as the growing Wittnauer brand. 1888 Emile Wittnauer, at 23 the youngest of the Wittnauer siblings, arrives in New York to work with his brothers. 1889 The company runs its very first advertisement. Appearing in the twentieth anniversary issue of the Jewelers’ Weekly, the ad notes that the company sells both “plain and complicated” watches, suggesting that it is a source for chronographs and repeating watches. 1890 The A. Wittnauer Company is formally established when J. Eugene Robert transfers title to the company to his young brother-in-law, Albert Wittnauer. Also involved in the company are Albert’s brothers, Louis and Emile, and their sister, Martha. 1899 With continuing success, the A. Wittnauer Company outgrows its small building at 19 Maiden Lane. Embracing the modern age, it moves to the tenth floor of a new fourteen-story skyscraper at 9-13 Maiden Lane. Louis Wittnauer, dies at age 41. Emile Assumes management of the New York office. 1904 Albert Wittnauer incorporates the A. Wittnauer Company, with himself as president and brother Emile as vice president. 1908 Albert Wittnauer dies at age 52. Emile Wittnauer becomes the head of the A. Wittnauer Company. 1915 As the center of New York manufacturing moves farther uptown, A. Wittnauer Company moves operations to 30 West 36th Street. Also located in the new building is a subsidiary, the Brighton Watch Case Company, which manufactures gold, platinum and diamond-studded cases to house the company’s Swiss movements. 1916 Emile Wittnauer dies, leaving the company in the hands of his sister, Martha Wittnauer. 1917-1918 As the American Expeditionary Force joins the fighting in World War I, Wittnauer watches and other navigational instruments become essential equipment for many early aviation units. During the War, servicemen in the field recognize wristwatches as a far more practical alternative to bulkier pocket watches. The Swiss watch industry moves quickly to take advantage of this new trend, giving the Swiss made Wittnauer an immediate edge in the U.S. market. 1918 The Wittnauer All-Proof, the world’s first waterproof, shock-proof, anti-magnetic watch, makes its retail debut. In the years to come, it would prove its mettle by being dropped from airplanes, thrown from the Empire State Building, taken to steaming Amazon jungles, and brought to the highest elevations of the Himalayas, Alps and Andes. Later, it would be used by countless service personnel during World War II. 1926 The National Broadcasting Company, America’s first radio network, chooses A. Wittnauer Company to provide the official timing for radio broadcasting. 1927 Wittnauer begins producing a navigational watch for use by aviators. The watch grows out of conversations between Commander P.V.H. Weems, the leading authority on aerial navigation, and Wittnauer watchmaker, J.P.V. Heinmuller. An aviation enthusiast, Heinmuller was then the official timekeeper of the U.S. National Aeronautical Association, as well as the developer of Wittnauer’s line of navigational timepieces, dashboard clocks and other aviation instruments. 1928 “Racing the moon,” Captain Charles B.D. Collyer and John Henry Mears circle the globe by air and sea in 24 days, beating the orbiting moon by a full three days. The two use A. Wittnauer Company timepieces throughout the journey. 1932 Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman – and the first person since Lindbergh – to fly solo across the Atlantic. Her Lockheed Vega-5B monoplane is equipped with A. Wittnauer Company timepieces. The 15-hour trip from Newfoundland to Ireland comes on May 21st, the fifth anniversary of Lindbergh’s flight. 1936 With the Depression continuing, A. Wittnauer Company, like most businesses offering luxury items, struggles. An era ends – and an exciting new one begins – when Martha Wittnauer sells the company founded by her brother to the Hella Deltah Company, a successful pearl manufacturer. A farsighted team consisting of Fred Cartoun, Hella Deltah’s sales manager, and investors Bernard Esh, a manufacturer of gold and platinum watch cases, and Ira Guilden, former vice president of the Bulova Watch Company, set to work revitalizing the company. 1937 Aviation and movie mogul, Howard Hughes, sets a coast-to-coast speed record by flying from Burbank to Newark in seven hours, twenty-eight minutes. His own Hughes Aircraft H-1 racer, “Winged Bullet,” is equipped with timepieces supplied by Wittnauer. 1941 As America enters World War II, Wittnauer, with its long relationship with the U.S. military, receives contracts to produce compasses, laboratory timers, aircraft clocks and military watches. The company’s topnotch workshops also offer employment to many skilled watchmakers forced to flee Europe. With domestic watch production diverted, Swiss watches flourish on the consumer market. While all assembly and repair facilities are devoted to the war effort, Wittnauer craftsmen work overtime to produce watches for the domestic market with movements imported from neutral Switzerland. 1948 CBS begins airing a series of half-hour radio programs featuring the Wittnauer Choraliers. 1949 Wittnauer introduces an accurate self-winding watch that is slimmer, yet more durable, than previous self-winding models. 1957 Wittnauer introduces its first electric watch. 1969 Westinghouse Electric Corporation purchases Wittnauer, bringing together an electrical industry giant and the company at the forefront of the newest electronic timekeeping technology. Newly installed president Robert Pliskin, a watch industry veteran, dedicates himself to improving the quality of the company’s offerings, concentrating on the Wittnauer watch brands, as well as Atmos clocks, while continuing to refine its electronic watch innovations. 1970 Wittnauer moves its offices and factory to New Rochelle, New York, a Westchester County suburb just north of New York City. 1979 John L. Davis, an active and innovative sales executive for the preceding 34 years, becomes president of Wittnauer. Davis continues to update and refine the company’s products, bringing it firmly into the electronic age with improved quartz analog watches. 1991 With the revived slogan, “the watchmaker’s watch,” the Wittnauer watch brand becomes the primary focus of the company. New company president, Reynald M. Swift, hires a new advertising agency specifically for Wittnauer watches, also instituting a new Wittnauer “Quality Pledge” and continuing the company’s “buckle-to-buckle” warranty. 1994 Wittnauer International Inc. is born, as the company gives up its dual role as manufacturer and agent to concentrate on its own Wittnauer brand. 2001 Two of world’s most prominent timekeeping names unite when Wittnauer becomes part of the Bulova Corporation. Here’s another 50’s vintage watch from a company with a long horological history. Gallet is a historic Swiss manufacturer of high-end timepieces for professional, military, sports, racing, and aviation use. It is the world’s oldest watch and clock making house with history dating back to Humbertus Gallet, a clock maker who became a citizen of Geneva in 1466. The Gallet & Cie (Gallet & Company) name was officially registered by Julien Gallet (1806–1849) in 1826, who moved the family business from Geneva to La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Prior to this date, operations commenced under the name of each of the Gallet family patriarchs. Gallet is best known during the 20th century to the present day for its line of MultiChron chronograph wristwatches. Produced primarily for military, industrial, auto racing, and other professional applications, Gallet’s MultiChron watches often incorporated a number of advanced timekeeping innovations. A renown Gallet timepiece was the Flight Officer time zone chronograph. Commissioned by Senator Harry S. Truman in 1939 for pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, the Flight Officer (a.k.a. Flying Officer) had a rotating 12-hour bezel and the names of 23 major world cities printed on the periphery of the dial (face). These features made it possible to calculate changes in the time as an aviator flew across lines of longitude. Besides being the first-time zone calculating wristwatch, the Flight Officer was the first wristwatch with a rotating bezel and one of the world’s first wrist chronographs to be housed in a water-resistant case. Truman wore a Gallet Flight Officer during his terms as 33rd president (1945–1953). The modern Gallet Company is one of a small handful of independent Swiss watch brands that still maintain in-house manufacturing facilities. While recently expanding the company’s marketing focus to reach a wider audience of “civilian” consumers for its expensive professional-use timepieces, Gallet continues to privately produce components and modules for a number of other entities within the luxury-class timekeeping industry. For the Gallet family of watchmakers, the relocation to La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1826 after 350 years in Geneva proved to be a most advantageous move. With the resources available in the “Watch Valley”, family patriarch Julien Gallet (1806–1849) was able to expand the new company’s distribution of its pocket watches to all of Europe. In 1855, Julien Gallet’s son Léon (1832–1899) purchased Grumbach & Co., complete with factory and equipment, to address the need for greater manufacturing capabilities. With this increase in work area, Gallet was able to bring together under one roof many of the Jura Region’s watchmakers to help meet Europe’s increasing demand for watches. Léon Gallet allowed his watchmakers to benefit through the registration of patents in their own names. This unique approach inspired innovation with Gallet's artisans and allowed the company to offer a very extensive range of watches. With innovation came growth and Gallet & Cie grew to become one of the largest timekeeping manufacturers in Switzerland. Léon Gallet set his sights on the rest of the world markets. In 1864, Léon's brother, Lucien Gallet (1834–1879), established the company's first US location in Chicago, with a New York City office following soon after. Together with Jules Racine, a cousin of the Gallet brothers living in the US, the company began its expansion into the American market. Due to the American consumer’s preference for domestically styled products, the Gallet Company created numerous new lines to accommodate this. Not including watches privately labeled for established jewelry retailers, Gallet introduced thirty-seven new brands. While the names that appeared on the dials and the overall appearance and function of these watches were tailored to American tastes, all cases and movements continued to be produced in Gallet’s La Chaux-Fonds workshop. Each of the numerous brands were designed to target a different demographic. Lower priced watches were supplied to the average working man, as well as expensive high-grade and complicated timepieces in solid gold cases for the wealthy. Gallet’s finest pocket watches, hand-built in the classic Swiss tradition and retaining the family flagship and Electa names, were always available. Although not initially successful, included with the company’s American offerings in 1895 were the world’s first wrist-worn watches produced for mass consumption. By the end of the 19th century, the Gallet family was manufacturing and selling over 100,000 timepieces per year. When the worldwide economic downturn of the 1930s caused international trade to plunge by as much as two-thirds, it suddenly became unprofitable for the Gallet Company to continue production of many of its recently established brands. Gallet chose instead to consolidate its efforts back into its primary area of expertise, that of the manufacture of high quality professional-use timepieces. Under the family name, the Gallet Company continued to flourish by providing hand-held timers and chronograph wristwatches to allied military and industrial clients during the years leading up to and through World War II. During this period, the Gallet’s sales again surpassed 100,000 units annually. After the war, Gallet’s renewed worldwide popularity with civilians and professionals in the fields of aviation, sports, medicine, and technology eliminated the necessity to manufacture numerous secondary brands. With the exception of the few brand names that the company retained for its sports and industrial stopwatch lines, most of Gallet's previously held trademarks went back into circulation. Japanese fan and laurel trademark, registered in 1896 by Julien Gallet (1862–1934). This mark was used for Swiss made "Laurel" watches exported to Kintarō Hattori, founder of the Seiko company and Gallet's trade partner in Japan during the late 19th and early 20th century. History:
Here’s a beautiful Ralco watch from the late 1940’s or early 1950’s. "Ralco" watches were produced by Movado, the name originating from the first letter of the names of three members of the Ditesheim family (owners of Movado), Roger, Armand and Lucien. The watch has a very nice quality Swiss 15-jewel bumper automatic movement which is working perfectly fine. Some additional information I found on the internet: On Saturday, October 11, 1941, a U.S. federal trademark registration was filed for RALCO by Movado Watch Company. The USPTO has given the RALCO trademark serial number of 71447707. The current federal status of this trademark filing is EXPIRED. The description provided to the USPTO for RALCO is WATCHES. When I came across this Welsbro vintage watch I was eager to find out about the history behind the company that manufactured or assembled this watch. Through my research I discovered that Welsbro was a trademark of Weissman Watch Co., New York, importers of fine Swiss Watches. Welsbro watches actually began in the pocket watch era. The name was initially 'Weisbro', for the Weissman Brothers (Weis + Bro = Weisbro). But when the name was capitalized, as is typical for a name on a watch, Weisbro became “WEISBRO” which looked like “Welsbro”. Well….. guess what…the company took that name and ran with it. Welsbro watches were typically good quality Swiss watches with jeweled movements from one of a few Swiss movement manufacturers. The cases were also typical for that era, being either gold plated or chrome plated. Late 1930s to 1940s Welsbro watches shared the same cases used by other quality Swiss watch manufacturers. In the world of vintage timepieces, Welsbro watches were like Bulova watches, in that they were both New York City based companies that imported quality Swiss Watches. Samuel Weissman, Sylvia Shapiro and Florence Weissman, were doing business as Weissman Watch Co., Welsbro Watch Co. and Weisco Watch Co., 20 W. 47th St., in 1943. This particular watch has a Swiss movement stamped “Hilton Watch Co. So, I think it’s even more rare since it appears to be a mix of two companies. Hilton was a company based in New York City and distributed watches usually made with 17 jewel Swiss movements and cases from a variety of sources. It was a marketing company rather than a manufacturer. What is fascinating and rare about the movement is that it is stamped “AS 1187/94” which is the same movement that Rolex purchased from 'A Schild' in Grenchen for use in its Tudor range of watches in the 1950’s and 1960’s. (Google ...TUDOR AS 1187/94 MOVEMENT). There is a misconception that because of the Rolex prestige, it is automatically assumed by most buyers that Rolex manufactured its own movements in-house, but in fact, during its golden age this was never so. The majority of Rolex mechanisms were purchased from the 'Aegler' company, not least because Rolex had a strong financial interest in Aegler. Other movements were also sourced from Fabrique d’Horologerie de Fontainmelon ( F.H.F) and A Schild (AS), which is the exact same movement in this Welsbro/Hilton watch. Then as now, the standard of components needed to satisfy Rolex quality control was nothing short of remarkable, and whichever one of these makers were responsible for a particular Rolex movement from the 1950s and ‘60s, its build and finish standard will always be second to none. The case of this particular watch is stamped W.M.R Watch Case Co. which was an entity registered at NEW YORK county at the address of 11 W. 42Nd St. New York, NY10036. The company was incorporated on June 19, 1959. and it seems to have supplied cases for some other brands such as "Vantage" (Hamilton) and "Halgreen”. This is a very interesting and beautiful watch indeed! A bit of background on "assembled" watches: Literally thousands of watch companies have existed. Some actually "manufactured" watches while many other companies "pieced together" components that were manufactured by other companies. They would purchase the movement, dial, case, hands, etc. from different suppliers and assemble them in their own factories. Watches were sold under whatever name they had chosen to put on the dial. These are collectively referred to as "generic" Swiss watches, or "assembled" watches. The movements inside these watches are referred to as "ebauches" (pronounced ay-boshe). Ebauche, S.A. at one time was an affiliation of 17 firms manufacturing raw Swiss watch movements. It doesn't mean they are "bad" or of poor quality either as some ebauche movements were used by early Rolex and Breitling watches. When it comes to researching about these companies, the longer a company was in existence, the better the chance that history is available, and probably the watch is more collectible (and may have a higher value). Here are some examples of companies with ‘ebauche’ movements:
There is a lot of mystery and speculation surrounding the watch brand called “SEKONDA”. One version of the history of the watch is that 'Sekonda' is a British company that sourced its watches from the former USSR until the early 1990s when the Soviet Union broke up. Established in 1966, Sekonda watches were originally produced in the Soviet Union, at the First Moscow Watch Factory in Moscow and the Petrodvorets Watch Factory in Leningrad. Many Soviet-era Sekonda watches exported to the West were re-badged Poljot and Raketa watches. The 'Sekonda' brand was created by ChasProm in 1966 for the export of the best watches from all the USSR's watch factories, including Slava. The names of factories that built Sekonda watches (re-relabeling their regular brands) were:
Additional historical data of the watch’s history is that Sekonda had been a brand of “Time Products Ltd.” who are now based in Leicester in the UK. From 1966 until the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sekonda sourced watches from the USSR. Indeed spares for Sekonda watches in the UK were provided by Southern Watch and Clock Supplies Ltd, Precista House, 48-46 High Street , Orpington, Kent. As mentioned earlier, there is speculation that the 'Sekonda' brand was originally created by ChasProm (the Soviet timepiece industry agency) in partnership with a British company. Sekonda 'paddle-hand Strela' chronographs were given as official gifts several months before the 1966 launch of the brand in Britain. It was within 18 months of the end of the USSR that Sekonda UK stopped sourcing any watches from Russia or Belarus. 'Sekonda'-branded Russian watches have continued to be available in Russia, from Poljot and Slava, right up until recently. The stamp on the movement shows it is a Poljot Russian type of movement. Internet sources of various Sekonda Movement Identification Manuals coming from London watch retailers dating from the 1970s showsnot only Poljot & Raketa, but Luch, Chaika, Slava, Vostok, Zaria, Agat & Molnia, all branded Sekonda for the UK market. So, Sekonda were definitely using Soviet movements during the 60s 70s. Here's a quote from the Poljot page at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poljot: "During the Soviet era, Soviet watch brands including Poljot, but also Raketa watches, were marketed in the United Kingdom under the brand "Sekonda". Today's Sekonda company, a British distributor of ubiquitous fashion watches, has no connection to any Russian watches." Here’s another fine example of a 1930’s local jeweler’s house brand.
The Canadian Trademark Database shows that the name was registered as of 1926, but another reference book suggests that the actual registration was in 1945 (with claimed usage from 1926). Not sure if the database makes that distinction. See Canadian Trademark Data below. The brand was active for quite a while and only expired recently (1993). Unfortunately, that's long enough for many of the details to have been expunged from the database, so there's only a bit of information left. "Saunders Lorie & Co" was apparently a fairly large jewelry store at one point in Toronto, Canada; they show up as a registered silversmith. There is no direct reference to Sears, Simpsons, or Simpsons-Sears or Eaton’s stores though, so I don’t think there is any connection to these department stores. The movement appears to be a SWISS Fontainemelon (FHF) movement. It has a gold plated case with stainless steel back. Circa 1930’s case design. Very typical generic Swiss watch of the period. Interesting and fun to wear. Canadian Trademarks Details 0128427 - LORIE Application/Registration numbers 0128427 Registration number TMDA39773 Status: EXPUNGED Key Dates, Registered 1926-05-05 Interested Parties, Registrant SAUNDERS LORIE AND COMPANY LIMITED. Toronto ONTARIO Current owner LOIS R. ORKIN, 16 Edgar Avenue, Toronto, M4W 2A9 , ONTARIO Goods: Watches, watch movements, watch dials, watch cases and jewellery of all kinds and description. Precious and semi-precious metals, and jewellery Action History Registered 1926-05-05 Renewed 1976-05-05 Expunged - Failure to Renew 1993-05-28 |
Old Time WatchesI enjoy collecting mechanical (manual wind and automatic) and early electric and quartz timepieces. I take great pleasure in researching and writing about the companies and people that created these beautiful watches. PF
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