Vintage Watch Update No. 119
This week’s newsletter opens with an extremely stylish, stainless steel, Favre-Leuba chronograph which dates to c. 1960. The watch has a superb two-tone silvered dial with strong tonal contrasts and handsomely calibrated outer scales for telemeter and tachymeter in blue and red. With a case diameter of 36mm, this is a relatively large watch for the period of production, yet the chronograph pushers are unusually discreet being significantly smaller than those found on comparable models by other watchmakers.
Next is a very smart and relatively early version of the Zenith Sporto model which dates to c. 1953. During the 1950s, Zenith’s Sporto range was produced with an extremely good quality steel casing, featuring sharp angles and edges and combinations of satin and polished finished. The outside case back is solid steel but the movement is covered by an additional glazed cuvette which not only enhances the protection of the movement from dirt and moisture, but also also allows inspection of the movement without opening its casement – watch the video of this Zenith on our website and you’ll see a demonstration of the removal of the case back which reveals the glazed cuvette.
Above is a great looking Omega Seamaster Ref. 166.020 which dates to c. 1961. This watch has a lightly ‘machine’ textured dial with applied pointed faceted baton indexes and a framed date aperture at 3 o’clock. The watch has its original Omega crystal and crown. The stainless steel uni-shell case has Omega’s embossed seahorse medallion to the centre. This watch is accompanied by an Omega presentation case and can be supplied with one of our new Milanese mesh bracelets – see images below – which I think looks pretty fantastic.
More on these great new bracelets below….
Pictured here is a vibrant and sporty model by Tissot named the Carrousel Visodate. This watch, made in c. 1969, retains its original strap and buckle and features a bi-directional rotating plastic bezel. Designed to easily clip on and off, the plastic bezel was interchangeable with a variety of differently configured bezels, allowing a range of uses. The bezel options originally offered by Tissot included pulsation, tachymetric and world time calibrations. The present watch is fitted with a traditional time elapsed scale – if the bezel is rotated to line up with the minute hand, the bezel can then be used to record time elapsed by the minute hand. Watch the video of this watch on our website and you’ll see a demonstration of the removal and replacement of the interchangeable bezel.
Shown above is a classic stainless steel Omega Ref. 121.001 from 1964. The watch has a classic silvered dial with raised, pointed baton indexes and a cross-hair subsidiary seconds dial. The stainless steel case has a chamfered bezel and faceted lugs and incorporates Omega’s calibre 269 movement which belongs to the highly regarded Omega ’30’ series.
Made in 1956 and in wonderful condition, this Elco wristwatch has a very attractive 9ct yellow gold case with sharply chamfered bezel and crisp, splayed lugs. The silvered dial has raised, gilded Arabic and lozenge-shaped numerals and an outer ‘pearled’ minute track. You’ll find more information about the Elco watch company on this watch’s listing on the website.
We’ve just started stocking a new range of woven metal watch bracelets. The so-called Milanese watch bracelet is one of the all time classics. Early forms of the Milanese bracelet were already in use by some wristwatch manufacturers in the 1920s, but their heyday was undoubtedly the 1960s and 1970s. A wonderfully flexible form of mesh weave, the Milanese style of watch bracelet is extremely comfortable to wear and suitable for almost any type of watch from sports to dress styles. In fact, see just how on trend they are in this article featured in GQ: www.gq-magazine.co.uk/milanese
These bracelets are easy to fit and have convenient cut-out niches to the underside of the lug bars to enable easy removal and replacement of spring bars. Watch the video on the product’s listing on our website to see how to adjust and fit these bracelets. These bracelets are all made in stainless steel and are also available with yellow gold plating or pink gold plating – prices start at just £28. These are a brilliant and cost effective way to transform the look of a watch.
We have also just re-vamped our Hirsch strap offering on the website, adding several new styles and colour ways. You’ll also find examples of vintage watches fitted with the straps within most of our strap listings on the website. Our range of straps start at only £21.
Rounding off this week’s newsletter is a fantastic revised and expanded edition of Moonwatch Only
a book dedicated to the iconic Omega Speedmaster. This incredibly well researched and highly detailed study of the Omega Speedmaster examines the history and models produced from the Speemaster’s introduction in 1957, to the present day. The book includes an examination of individual references with photographs of dials, movements, inside and outside case backs, specifications and period of production. There are also details and photographs of different bracelet types, crystals, crowns, bezels, certificates, boxes, advertisements and just about anything else you could possibly think of. A massive tome, the book weighs 3348g, runs to 564 pages and is lavishly illustrated throughout. Beautifully produced, this is an absolutely invaluable resource for any lover of the Speedmaster. You’ll find our current range of Watch Book titles here: https://www.blackbough.co.uk/found-in/watch-accessories/watch-books/
To receive these updates automatically via email, please select the ‘Join our Mailing List’ tab at the bottom of any of our web pages.