1950s Vintage Wittnauer Longines Cal 9 Rope Bezel "Wrinkles"

Introducing

Wittnauer Longines Cal 9 Rope Bezel "Wrinkles"

Circa 1950s

Art deco watches are amazing. Their makers bring to many variations to the table that it's virtually impossible to have seen all of them. Lugs, bezel, dial, hands, hour markers and crystal go through so many permutations.

Wrinkles here is so-named because of his dial. For something from the 1950s, this guy has a pretty clean dial with a wrinkle-like texture. Take it into the sun or under the loupe and you've got yourself a conversation starter.

Because of the subtle dial texture, the rope bezel will be the one to catch your eye. People who love art deco timepieces are invariably searching for a particularity in certain pieces that make them stand out from the rest on the shelf. The rope bezel did it for me. 

Not too garish, and in small amounts, leaving the rest of the watch to be admired,

Also on the dial is a window-in-window effect given by the obviously planned out mini-seconds subdial. The bevelled edges of the tiny windows give loupe-lovers a little more to admire, as does the dew drop of a counter balance on the mini-seconds hand.

On the dial are tapered hour markers and arabic numerals, both applied. The Wittnauer logo sits at 12'O in place of numerals, which to me is always a nice touch given the little space accorded to the dial for decorations. 

Also the stick minute hand grazes the edges of the hour markers, something I always look out for because it shows consideration on the designer's' part (and also of it's original hands).

But the main event for Wrinkles has got to be the dial texture. Spreading out from the dial centre are curved lines that cross and mesh into an artistic display of rises and nooks. In my mind I imagine rope texture to be as such when scrutinized under a microscope, so that more or less completes the artistic interpretation of the watch's concept.

And as with all art deco watches, this guy is a great size delivered in a small package. Who needs large garish blocks on one's wrist anyway?

1950s Vintage Wittnauer Longines 

Cal 9 Rope Bezel "Wrinkles"

Hour, minute and mini-seconds hands

Gold dial with guilloche

23mm 10k gold-filled stainless steel case

32mm lug-to-lug

18mm lug-width

Cal. 9 WNG manual wind movement @ 18,000vph

Thick domed acrylic crystal

Black aftermarket leather strap

S$360

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

Click here for ordering information

Visit the Catalogue for more selections

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1950s Vintage Hamilton Lyndon Bubbleback "Wings"

Introducing

Hamilton Lyndon Bubbleback "Wings"

Circa 1950s

Wings because lugs. This baby's got one of the most tastefully fancy lugs I've seen on a wrist watch - a stepped horn that looks like wings from an angel. It's the watch of a classic gentleman, with a hint of playfulness. 

Set against a 10k gold-filled case, Wings is actually more than the lugs that make it stand out so much, The manual wind watch possesses a 60-minute track around the perimeter of the dial, along with a detailed minute track before the applied gold-filled arabic numerals. 

Add in the feuille hands and matching gold sweep seconds and you've got yourself an impressive example of the class 1950s. 

Impeccable condition to boot - signed crown, case, dial and movement with nay a scratch.

1950s Vintage Hamilton Lyndon Bubbleback "Wings"

Hour, minute and seconds hands

Signed cream dial with slight patina

32mm 10k gold-filled case

42mm lug-to-lug

16mm lug width

Signed Hamilton manual wind movement @ 18,000vph

Acrylic glass

Aftermarket black leather strap

S$600

Email

thevintageseiko@gmail.com

for orders or enquiry

Click here for ordering information

Visit the Catalogue for more selections

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1950s Vintage Vulcain Cricket

Introducing

Vulcain Cricket

Circa 1950s

Mechanical alarm watches strike a chord with me. It's an alarm clock on your wrist, made of more than 100 parts put together by skilled artisans, able to operate accurately on a daily basis, without battery change, for decades.

Isn't that just awesome?

The Vulcain Cricket was birth from its workshops in 1947 after five years of research. The challenge was to produce a wrist-sized movement that had a mechanical alarm function that is loud enough to wake someone up.

With an innovative winding system where one direction wound the watch barrel and the other powered the alarm barrel, the loud shrill of the Vulcain Cricket was so named because of its resemblance to the annoying twilight denizen. 

The watch then gained international fame as the President's Watch when one was presented to Harry S Truman, thus starting a tradition where each head of state was gifted with a Vulcain Cricket.

Whether to wake him up from a nap or to remind him of a meeting, the Vulcain Cricket had found a legendary place in the White House on the wrist of the most powerful man in the world. 

Believe it or not, this piece from my personal collection wasn't my first choice. The Vulcain that caught my fancy was actually a small seconds with date window - a lot dressier than this piece. 

Somehow, the characteristic piece stood out over time, and its multi-faceted dial called out. There's something about that inner ring; there's something about the raised applique arabic numerals, that red seconds hand, the sharp hour and minute hands sitting comfortably inside the gold-filled case.

Long story short, I couldn't have made a better choice.

1950s Vintage Vulcain Cricket

Hour, minute and seconds hand

Multi-layered gold dial with gold appliqued numerals

32mm gold-filled stainless steel case

40mm lug-to-lug

18mm lug width

Vulcain Cricket calibre @ 18,800vph

Acrylic crystal

Aftermarket leather strap

Personal Collection