Angelus Ad From 1946

Angelus is still around today, but they make watches much different than the one showcased in the ad below.

The compnay began manufacturing its own ébauches, or movement blanks, as far back as 1904. By this time, it was also already making complicated watches. This included repeaters and chronographs – the chronograph especially being one of Angelus’ specialties.

The ad displayed in this post is for a complicated triple calendar chronograph watch. About four years before this ad was released, in 1942, Angelus actually released the first series chronograph with a calendar complication. Angelus called it the Chronodate initially, but by 1943 was calling it the Chrondato (as it’s called in the above advertisement).

1945 Breitling Advertisement

I shared this one already in my post The Wakmann Watch Company: An Answer to Post-War Protectionism?, but it’s so cool, I think it’s worth sharing here again.

The above ad is for the original Duograph, a model that Breitling recently re-released. It’s a split-seconds chronograph, which is even cooler than your normal run-of-the-mill chronograph.

World War 2 came to a conclusion during the end of 1945, which is around the same time the above ad was released. The US watch industry, which was only producing watches for the military, had already lost a large amount of market share to the Swiss by this time.

After striking a deal and creating the joint venture with Breitling, Wakmann was an American company importing and co-branding clocks with its new partner for US military (and civilian) aircraft. For more on this subject, you can revisit my earlier post by clicking here.

Heuer Advertisement From 1945

No chronograph post from the 1940s would be complete without Heuer. Unlike regular watches, chronographs specifically were considered “war material” by the surrounding Axis Powers. Exporting them outside of Switzerland was difficult, so Heuer concentrated more on its own domestic, Swiss market.

After World War 2 was over chronograph sales exploded, and Heuer was a major beneficiary. Chronographs specifically were associated with heroic war veterans during this boom period in sales, but by 1949, these sales started to rapidly decline.

Kelbert and Tourneau Watch Ads from 1945

According to Fratello, Kelbert was founded in 1938. It was an importer of Swiss watches, but resided in New York itself.

Besides this basic information provided by Fratello’s article, I can’t seem to find much else about the company. The above ad dates to around 1945.

Tourneau is another non-manufacturer that seems to have provided chronographs with its name on the dial in the 1940s. Tourneau is a retailer that’s still in operation today.

The company was purchased by European retailer, Bucherer AG, in 2018. Tourneau was originally established all the way back in 1900, selling watches in the Russian Empire. After the Russian Revolution, the founding family briefly fled to Paris, before arriving in New York in 1924.

Universal Geneve Advertisement From 1945

Another cool ad from the 1940s comes from Universal Geneve.

This one is advertising for the timing and registering up to 45 minutes in 1/5 seconds. A little odd when it comes to the increments it can time for, but that’s what makes it cool.

Conclusion

The 1940s was an interesting time for chronograph wristwatches. They were important for militaries in WW2, and were popular after the war’s conclusion. The 1960s would see a resurgence in chronographs, which will be the subject of a future post.

According to Heddels History Of The Chronograph, the first modern chronograph was created in 1816. It would be Breitling, however, that would be responsible for the first wrist chronograph with two pushers – which is the archetypal image of modern chronographs today.

Before this innovation, chronographs operated with a single pusher. Breitling filed this patent in 1934, and by the 1940s, we can see clearly through these ads that this was the predominant configuration that almost the entire industry would adopt going forward.

Know more about Angelus, Breitling, Heuer, Kelbert, Tourneau, and Universal Geneve and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

While there’s definitely other brands (that aren’t Swiss) that you could argue are right up there with the Holy Trinity – such as A. Lange & Söhne, F.P. Journe, Breguet, etc – for the purpose of this post, we’ll be focusing on the classics.

The classic big three have many things in common, including but not limited to: high-complications, iconic Gerald Genta designed sports models (at least for Patek and AP), and an extremely long, uninterrupted history of producing watches.

The historical track record is one of the main arguments backing up the current composition of the trinity members (versus a brand like A. Lange & Söhne that wasn’t reestablished until the 1990s when Germany was reunified). Other high-end brands like Blancpain were out of business for a time, so they can’t claim the same continuous record of the Trinity watchmakers.

Audemars Piguet Ad From 1959

Starting in alphabetical order, we have this really cool ad from AP. I love the emphasis the ad places on the watch’s movement. It’s a finely crafted, small batch watch for the “true connoisseur of fine watches”.

It’s hard for me to imagine AP without the Royal Oak, but this ad was released over a decade before that iconic watch even existed. The Royal Oak remains the best selling watch in Audemars Piguet’s stable today. It was designed in 1970 by Gerald Genta, but wasn’t actually industrially produced until 1972.

Of course another member of the Holy Trinity, Patek Philippe, would also work with Gerald Genta. The rest is history, as they say. The iconic Nautilus was debuted a few years later, in 1976. The Nautilus is still a very popular model today, especially if the dial is Tiffany Blue.

Patek Philippe Ad From 1956

This Patek Phillipe ad is more artistic than the one from AP. It looks more like a painting. One of the “World’s Foremost” watches is shown in a style that could have easily been released in the 1940s with its Tank-style case.

During the war, Patek Phillipe actually sent a stainless steel reference 1461 to Charles Woehrle. Mr. Woehrle was a prisoner of war at the time in a German POW camp. He’d filled out a mail-in coupon from a Patek Philippe promotional pamphlet, with a note saying that he’d pay for the watch when he got home after the end of WW2.

Woehrle wore the watch for over thirty years before it was stolen as a result of a home burglary. There is a happy ending to the story, however, involving a golden replacement from Patek Philippe themselves. Check out the full story and an interview with Charles Woehrle himself, over at Hodinkee. It’s a great read and a really fascinating story. It also makes me a big fan of Patek Phillipe as a company.

I know the title says that there will be three ads from the 1950s in this post, but since we’re on the subject of WW2 – here’s a bonus one from the early 1940s. This ad was pulled directly from an Esquire magazine found by a friend at a thrift store, which is dated December 1942 (right as the US entered WW2) .

Vacheron Constantin Ad From 1958

The final ad in this post comes from Vacheron Constantin. Like the ad from AP, it’s advertising to the “connoisseur”. You’ll see “IN GENEVA SINCE 1775” at the bottom, which makes it older than the United States.

Vacheron Constantin was founded in 1755, or two decades after Blancpain. Unlike Blancpain, however, Vacheron Constantin never shut its doors. That means it can rightfully claim to be the oldest watch manufacturer.

Conclusion

The 1950s were the decade when the world, and the watchmaking industry as a whole, were changing dramatically. It had been over a decade since the end of World War 2 when these ads were released.

Companies like Rolex and Blancpain were introducing the first purpose-built dive watches with rotating bezels. Omega would introduce the world to its Professional line of watches in 1957, which included the Seamaster 300 and Speedmaster. In other words, the foundation for the steel “sports watch” was already established by the time the 1960s started to roll around.

Iconic sports watches like the Royal Oak and Nautilus wouldn’t be introduced until the 1970s. This marked a change in the way even the Trinity did things, since these now-iconic sports models were introduced in steel.

That was a big thing at the time, since most of the finely-finished watches being manufactured by Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin were previously crafted from precious metals. By this time, steel sports watches, especially dive watches and chronographs, had hit their stride – but the industry as a whole was striding right into one big Quartz Crisis.

The Holy Trinity survived the Quartz Crisis, and continue to thrive today. Back in the 1950s, they were marketed as the finest watches in the world, so you could argue that not much has changed when looking at their positioning in the watch hierarchy today.

Know more about the “Holy Trinity” and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

As a result of the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act, LeCoultre watches were cased domestically in North America. The cases were also locally produced, with the finished watches being sold under the LeCoultre name. These watches were sold by the Vacheron & Constantin-LeCoultre company.

This happened from approximately 1932 to 1985. After the LeCoultre trademark expired, however, the name Jaeger-LeCoultre was used globally. That clears up a little of the confusion, but also raises more questions than it answers.

Vacheron Constantin and JLC: A Partnership Through A Shared Partner

Records indicate that the last movement to power an American LeCoultre watch left the factory in 1976. Some say that Vacheron Constantin and LeCoultre shared a relationship centering on the right to import and distribute LeCoultre watches.

This relationship likely has roots dating back to the 1930s, starting with “Allied Watches” as the distributor, which later changed to another company. There is some documentation to support this, advertising Vacheron & Constantin and Allied watches, showing both LeCoultre and Vacheron et Constantin watches.

If you’re wondering what’s up with the “et” and the “&” between Vacheron Constantin, that’s another story. Vacheron et Constantin would remain the firm name until the late 1960’s. The “et” would later be dropped and replaced by “&”. The “&” would also later be dropped, most likely sometime around the late 1970s, truncated to the now modern name – Vacheron Constantin.

Vacheron Constantin and JLC share a mutual parent today of course, as they’re both owned by the Richemont Group. Before they were stablemates at Richemont, they were linked through an unlikely third party, though. That third party was Longines-Wittnauer.

Where Does Longines Fit In With All Of This?

Another interesting thing about the ad from 1964 is the text below that reads “Division of Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company”.

Longines purchased Wittnauer in 1950, and the Longines-Wittnauer group became the North American distributor for LeCoultre shortly after. Longines-Wittnauer was also distributor for Vacheron Constantin watches. So through a link through Longines (now owned by Swatch Group), Vacheron & Constantin-LeCoultre Watches, Inc was a division of the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company.

Vacheron Constantin-LeCoultre: Cased And Timed In The USA

This interesting arrangement also led to some really interesting watches, such as the LeCoultre Galaxy. These mystery dial watches are double signed, with LeCoultre on the dial and Vacheron & Constantin, or Vacheron & Constantin-Lecoultre stamped on the caseback.

Here’s one that was listed for sale on Hodinkee, and you can see the dual-signatures. You can also see the inside of the caseback, which reads “CASED AND TIMED IN U.S.A. BY LECOULTRE.” The Galaxy Mystery is the only time both companies collaborated on a product together, according to Hodinkee. This was also an exclusive collaboration specifically for the US market.

Another Interesting Alliance: This Time With Cartier

During the 1940s and 1950s, Jaeger LeCoultre also had some type of arrangement with Cartier, according to blommanwatchreport.com. Under this arrangement, Jaeger-LeCoultre watches were labelled Cartier, or dual-signed Cartier/LeCoultre, and sold as such. This may have even included JLC Atmos clocks.

I actually own an ad for a Cartier Futurematic (which is also shown in the blommanwatchreport.com post). You can see the Cartier looks eerily similar to the LeCoultre Futermatic in the feature image of this article.

The Cartier ad dates to 1951, and although it’s hard to read, the dial is dual-signed with LeCoultre. It appears that this relationship might have been a US market exclusive arrangement as well, since most of the surviving ads appear to be associated with LeCoultre, not JLC.

Conclusion

The relationship between Vacheron Constantin and LeCoultre, established by the arrangement with Longines-Wittnauer, is one of the more interesting historical tidbits I’ve learned about so far. I’m pretty sure I’d ever even know about it if I hadn’t stumbled upon these random ads from the 1950s and 1960s that peaked my curiosity.

The Longines-Wittnauer relationship ended in 1995 when Swatch purchased Longines, with Swatch taking over Longines distribution as well. Wittnauer was subsequently bought by Bulova in 2001. There’s some really interesting history behind collaborations that were directly related to US tariffs, which led to some very interesting watches being made exclusively for the US market.

Know more about Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Longines, and Wittnauer and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

Where We Last Left Off…

In my last post, Before Quartz: Hamilton, Lip, And The First Electric Watch, I covered Seiko’s Quartz Astron 35SQ, which triggered the “Quartz Revolution”. The Quartz Astron went on sale December 25, 1969. Roughly a decade later, quartz was in, and almost everything else was on its way out.

Seiko is perhaps best known for its excellent (and affordable) quartz watches, but it also owns a very iconic heritage related to mechanical watchmaking as well. Like today, it also focused on producing tough, yet affordable, watches for the masses.

Pre-Quartz Vintage Seiko Ads: A Focus On Value, An Emphasis On Automation

It seems that Seiko always strove to offer above-average value to consumers. You can see it in the pre-quartz era ads below. Language in the ads such as “the automation-made watch” that “runs like the dickens” at only a fraction of the price of a watch made the “old-fashioned way” can be applied to modern, entry-level mechanical Seiko’s, too – at least in my opinion.

Automation in the late 1960s, as today, had its advantages. You could get a great watch at a much better price. Machines don’t take coffee breaks or get paid overtime, after all. I have a feeling that wouldn’t be the main highlight of a modern advertisement, however.

While Seiko does appear to be moving upmarket, I do also think it still offers value in relation to many of its Swiss counterparts. To be fair, a lot of its higher-end watches, even ones that cost a thousand bucks or more, still offer good value I think. I’d say that’s especially true for the models that are receiving Grand Seiko technology and features (like Spring Drive movements and Zaratsu polishing).

My Favorite Vintage Seiko Ads

My favorite pre-quartz era watches from Seiko are its tool watches. Especially its divers. Even today, you can purchase a mechanical Seiko dive watch that’s tough and dependable, without breaking the bank. I know, I own both an SKX009 and a Samurai model.

My favorite vintage ads from the brand, however, are definitely the ones for its World Time models.

Originally released in 1964 for the Tokyo Olympics, it was relatively expensive at the time. Of course the company was behind Rolex and Glycine when it came to producing travel-time watches produced specifically for aviation purposes, which was still relatively new at the time. World time watches themselves were technically invented in the 1930s, however, but this was long before commercial airlines.

Conclusion

I greatly admire Seiko as a brand. The company known for quartz also has a rich heritage as a mechanical watchmaker. It introduced Japan’s first chronograph wristwatch, and possibly even introduced the world’s first automatic chronograph – depending on who you ask. Yes, possibly even before the Caliber 11 or Zenith’s El Primero made it to market, according to Hodinkee.

Its Laurel model was the first wristwatch in Japan, and Seiko produced Japan’s first dive watch in 1965. The 6139 Speedtimer, Seiko’s first automatic chronograph, may have hit the Japanese market as early as May 1969. Then on December 25, 1969 the whole game changed with the release of the first quartz watch – the Seiko Astron.

Not only are the vintage Seiko ads displayed in this post really cool, they’re also a window into Seiko’s “pre-quartz” past. Even all the way up until the release of the Astron, Seiko was putting out mechanical world timers and automatic chronographs – not to mention tough mechanical dive watches.

Not many watchmakers have such an iconic heritage, and even fewer are still fully-integrated manufactures. Seiko also offers watches all along the price spectrum – from entry-level to the higher-end. There’s no other brand that I can think of that’s directly comparable to Seiko as a brand. I think for these reasons, Seiko remains in a league of its own.

Know more about Seiko and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

The First Electric Watch: A Flawed And Transitional Innovation

Hamilton’s Electric 500 was announced in a press release January 4, 1957. It was the world’s first watch to be powered by a battery, and also never needed to be wound. Despite being first, Hamilton’s 500 wasn’t necessarily the best. It wasn’t as reliable as a traditional mechanical watch, needed frequent battery changes, and was prone to failure.

Research to produce the first electric watch actually started as far back as 1946. Apparently there were rumors that Hamilton’s rival Elgin was working on an electric watch at the time as well, but Hamilton was first – despite taking over a decade to bring its first electric watch to market.

Production of Hamilton electric watches stopped around 1969, though. By then, it was likely already accepted that quartz was the technology of the future.

LIP: Second Place In The First Electric Watch Race

LIP produced the world’s second electric movement, the R 27, in 1958, roughly a year after Hamilton.

It was also arguably the first “electronic” movement, because it contained a tiny diode to reduce sparking on the contacts, according to electric-watches.co.uk. The unit itself was bulky and required two batteries. Only about 7,000 units were produced, so to find one today is rare.

Timex Enters The Race

Many other brands and manufacturers wanted to be progressive and modern enough to introduce electric watches to the marketplace. Interestingly enough, this is most likely why US-based Timex ended up purchasing the German watchmaker Laco in 1959.

Ludwig Hummel sold Laco-DUROW to US Time Corporation (better known as Timex today) in February of 1959. This brought it under American ownership. Laco was developing electric watches at the time, something Timex was obviously very interested in.

The Laco-electric was introduced in 1961. Timex introduced its first electric watch, the model 67, in 1962. Shortly thereafter in 1965, Timex inevitably sold Laco-DUROWE, however.

And Then Came Quartz Along…

Seiko’s Quartz Astron 35SQ triggered the “Quartz Revolution” according to Seiko themselves. I guess one brand’s crisis is another brand’s revolution. The Quartz Astron went on sale December 25, 1969.

Roughly a decade later, quartz was in, and almost everything else was on its way out.

Seiko actually shut down its tuning fork project in 1968. This program was running parallel to its quartz project, but the company saw the writing on the wall early and wanted to bring the first quartz watch to market within a year. The name “Astron” was chosen to resonate with modern (at the time) space age language.

Tuning Fork Technology: A Fork In The Road

Many brands had taken a detour with tuning fork technology. Seiko abandoned it, but other brands kept it going through the 1970s. The most famous, and first, tuning fork wristwatch was created by Bulova. It first sold its Accutron watches in 1960, but it appears that Bulova stopped producing them by the mid-to-late 1970s.

The Bulova Accutron’s movement utilized a 360 Hz tuning fork (instead of a balance wheel) as the timekeeping element. A Swiss engineer named Max Hetzel was responsible for miniaturizing a tuning fork movement for Bulova.

The Accutron, as well as other tuning fork movements, such as the one illustrated in the below 1970s Baume and Mercier advertisement, would eventually be made obsolete by quartz movements.

Quartz movements also technically utilize a tuning fork, but it’s a microscopic tuning-fork-shaped quartz crystal. They also utilize a different frequency.

Conclusion

Seiko fired the first shot of the Quartz Crisis (or Revolution, depending on who you ask). It released the first quartz watch in 1969, ironically the same year that iconic Omega Speedmaster would be worn on the moon. That was also the same year Zenith would debut the El Primero, arguably the first (Swiss at least) fully integrated automatic chronograph movement.

At what you could say was one of the high points of Swiss watchmaking – with the release of the first automatic chronograph – the quartz watch was quietly sowing the seeds of disruption with Seiko’s Astron. Ironically, Seiko would also release an automatic chronograph at this time as well. While it abandoned tuning fork technology, Seiko did continue to produce mechanical watches as well. It just really hopped on the quartz train and rode it all the way to market dominance.

Luckily, many brands produce mechanical watches today. Some, like Rolex, stuck to their guns and rode out the Quartz Crisis producing mechanical watches, almost exclusively. I say almost because even Rolex succumbed to quartz at one point – take a look at an Oysterquartz if you don’t believe me.

Sandwiched in-between the disruptive quartz watch and the modern mechanical luxury timepiece of today is the now almost forgotten electric watch. It was a transitional time in watchmaking perhaps; but it’s also a period of horological history that deserves to be preserved.

Know more about Hamilton, LIP, Bulova, Seiko, and electric watches and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

If you didn’t read the other posts in this series, you can access them below:

Part One

Part Two

For some background, these ads were pulled directly from vintage Esquire magazines that a friend found at a local thrift store. The magazines themselves date from 1941 and 1942.

Girard Perregaux Watch Ads From 1941 and 1942

With roots dating back to 1791, Girard perregaux is one of the oldest watchmakers that still exists. The Girard-Perregaux company itself was founded in 1856, when Constant Girard married Marie Perregaux.

The company still maintains its status as a manufacture today, and has recently become independent as well. Kering – the luxury group that also owns Gucci – decided to sell 100% of its stake in both Gerard Perregaux and Ulysses Nardin to current management.

The above ads are spaced roughly one year apart. We can see the shift in marketing mentality between the two ads clearly. The first ad (left) focuses on the beauty and precision of its watches.

The 1942 ad to the right is selling watches “just in time for Christmas”, but you can also see hints in the description that the company is marketing to soldiers. Take a look at the Sea Hawk model for instance, it’s “the watch for accurate and active service”. It’s not beautiful or fine – it’s waterproof and cushioned against shock.

Helbros Watch Ad: Time Counts

The Helbros Advertisement below is directly marketing to active servicemen and women, make no mistake. Check out the “Time counts – Buy U.S. War Bonds – NOW!” at the bottom.

Helbros was an American company founded in the early 1900s. It was a major company in the US during its peak, and William Helbein (one of the founders) was actually the first chair of the American Watch Assemblers Association. He was also a Director of the American Watch Association. 

After Helbein’s death in 1960, the company struggled. The “Helbros” trademark was apparently assigned to another iconic American watchmaker in 1968, The Elgin National Watch Company. It was then reassigned back to “Helbros Watches Inc” in 1974. The last registration linked to “Helbros Watches” was in 1991, and cancelled by 1998. Jules Jurgensen registered a new trademark in the 2000s, but it appears that the original company was long gone by then.

Mido

The last advertisement in this post comes from Mido. Founded in 1918, today Mido is owned by the Swatch Group. The below ad comes from 1942, shortly after the United States entered WW2. It illustrates all the “modern” features of Mido watches at that time: waterproof, shockproof, and non-magnetic. According to Mido, the watch practically thinks for itself because it winds itself!

“No watch is more modern” is what Mido says in the ad. Seems a little over-the-top maybe, but back in 1942, automatic wristwatches were still relatively new. Mido launched the MULTIFORT line in 1934 (roughly 8 years before the release of the above ad). It was “one of the first antimagnetic watches with a self-winding movement and built-in water- and shock-resistance” according to the company. It also launched watches with unbreakable mainsprings – the first company to do so in the marketplace.

Mido first started using its robot mascot in 1939, so he was only about three years old in the above ad. “Robi” was Mido’s symbol of progress and robustness, and the firm focused on being a modern watchmaker at the time.

It was also the first manufacturer to introduce a central-read chronograph (the stopwatch function had all its hands arranged at the center). That was in 1945. By 1954, Mido released its POWERWIND winding system, arguably the world’s most efficient winding mechanism at that time.

Wrapping Things Up

Perhaps the most interesting thing I learned writing this series was related to Mido. I knew of the brand, but never really knew much about the brand’s history before.

To put things in perspective: Mido accomplished a lot of its innovations before Omega introduced the Speedmaster and Seamaster 300 in 1957. The very first sketch for IWC’s very first wristwatch wasn’t patented until June of 1946. IWC and Omega were both part of the “Dirty Dozen” during WW2, but provided hand-wound watches to the Allied Forces – not self-winding ones.

Mido had already been producing durable automatic watches for almost a decade – give or take. It’s a drastic change today, since Mido utilizes mostly ETA movements provided by its conglomerate parent company. Back in the day, Mido was an exceptionally modern watchmaker, and the advertisement from 1942 captures that spirit.

Know more about Girard Perregaux, Helbros, and Mido and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

Many of these mid-century ads are for watch movements or even components. Some are just for watch accessories, like aftermarket bracelets. I like these ads because they come from a time when watches were bought to be worn – not sit in a safe or become part of a collection.

These ads were originated before watches were basically superseded by smartphones (and other electronic gadgets). I doubt you’ll see a movement-maker or a bracelet-maker advertise today, so when looking at the vintage ads in this post, I think you can literally say “they don’t make ’em like this anymore”.

Vintage Watch Ads From Ebauches SA And Unitas

Ebauches SA was a holding company created at the end of 1926. It existed all the way into the mid 1980s, until it was eventually consolidated into Swatch Group under ETA. Before its inevitable absorption into ETA, Ebauches SA itself was an amalgamation of many iconic movement-makers that are still familiar today. Peseux and Valjoux are some of the names that likely still ring a bell.

Ebauches SA joined ASUAG (a larger holding company) in 1931, making it one of the founding members. Eterna would join the next year in 1932. This would lead to the splitting up of Eterna and ETA. Eterna would continue to manufacturer whole watches under the General Watch Co, while ETA went under the Ebauches SA part of the company.

Another name you may be familiar with is Unitas, which joined Ebauches SA in 1932. It’s still owned by ETA today, mostly producing its caliber 6497/6498.

After numerous more consolidations and mergers – the modern ETA became part of the Swatch group in 1983 when ASUAG merged with SSIH (a group that was originally created when Omega and Tissot merged with Lemania).

Incabloc Vintage Watch Ads

Another company that produced some really cool “non-watch” watch ads was Incabloc. The Incabloc shock system was invented by Georges Braunschweig and Fritz Marti, a pair of Swiss engineers in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. That was in 1934, and the system is still widely used in modern watches today – even if these watches don’t advertise it on their dials anymore.

You can see the trademark “lyre-shaped” spring worked into the design of the first three ads above, as well as integrated into the actual movement in the ad on the bottom right. This is the spring that’s integral to the Incabloc system that protects a watch’s balance-staff pivots from shocks. There’s a high probability that if you collect Swiss watches, you probably have one with Incabloc in it.

Forstner Ad From 1948

The below ad is actually for an aftermarket bracelet manufactured by Forstner. The company invented its signature “Komfit” band in 1939.

The “Komfit” band was a revolutionary idea at the time, designed “to make a watch strap whereby the buckle and clasp could move along the length of the strap, and then be secured once the proper fit was located”.

The above ad from 1947 is very similar to the 1941 advertisement I featured in my recent post 4 Interesting Watch Ads From the WW2 Era (Part 2).

Leonidas Ad From 1955

Leonidas was founded in 1841, and was a well know manufacturer of chronographs and timers. It merged with Heuer in 1964, and the Leonidas name would only be used sparingly going forward. By the late 1960s, Heuer-Leonidas was the fastest-growing producer of timekeeping instruments, as well as the most dominant.

The above ad shows a watch, but Leonidas was really more of a movement-maker. After Heuer was acquired by the TAG Group (Techniques d’Avant Garde) in 1985, the Leonidas name was dropped.

Wrapping Things Up

Let’s face it, you don’t need a watch nowadays. Back in the 1940s and 1950s when these ads were released, however, it was a different story. If you were timing a horserace, you probably needed a chronograph. A mechanical one, too. Quartz watches weren’t even close to being invented yet, and there wasn’t an internet or website to check the official time.

Accuracy, durability, and functionality – not legendary history and celebrity brand power – were the main selling points during this era. State-of-the-art shock protection was probably more important than heritage. I think that’s what makes these ads so charming.

Know more about Ebauches SA, Unitas, Incabloc, Forstner, And Leonidas and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

Omega: The Most Accurate Watch In The World

I’m not sure how to back up Omega’s “most accurate watch in the world claim”, so I guess I’ll just have to take their word for it. This ad dates back to before the US entered World War 2. Maybe that’s why its focus isn’t on the ruggedness or durability of the watch.

Omega did play a major part during the war, however. It supplied very rugged and durable watches to the Allied forces. Omega was a member of the “Dirty Dozen“, after all.

This ad was produced long before the iconic Speedmaster existed, or even the Seamaster. The Seamaster (not technically a purpose-built dive watch with roating bezel yet) wasn’t introduced until around 1948.

The above ad pre-dates the Omega we know today. Modern Omega is renowned for its sports watches. Omega didn’t introduced its Professional line of watches until 1957, however. This trilogy consisted of the now iconic sports watch lineup consisting of the Seamaster 300, Speedmaster, and Railmaster.

Croton: Tough As They Are Dependable

Unlike the Omega ad, this Croton advertisement from 1942 clearly wants to let you know how tough its watches are. Also unlike Omega, the company wasn’t started in Switzerland. Croton was established in Southern Italy. That’s according to the company’s website. It wouldn’t settle in New York until 1928, establishing itself with the name Croton Watch Company. It’s still in New York today.

Forstner: An Iconic Bracelet Maker

I was excited to see this ad when I was thumbing through the magazines, largely because of the company’s association to NASA and the space program. A Komfit bracelet was actually attached to the first Omega in space on October 3, 1962 (during the Mercury-Atlas 8 mission).

Forstner was originally founded in 1920 in New Jersey, and it primarily focused on watch accessories from day one. The company invented its signature “Komfit” band in 1939. The company’s revolutionary idea “was to make a watch strap whereby the buckle and clasp could move along the length of the strap, and then be secured once the proper fit was located”. Forstner was recently revived and sells excellent bracelets and accessories today.

During the 1940s, Forstner also introduced its version of the “Bonklip”, ladder-style bracelet. This bracelet was mostly used with military watches that had fixed spring bars. The idea was that with fixed spring bars, the watch wouldn’t be ripped off the wrist. Basically that left the NATO strap as your only option.

That was until ladder style bracelets were introduced, circumventing the issue. Forstner’s version of this bracelet stood out from the rest of the pack, because it used a push-button clasp that locked into the links.

Forstner’s post-war legacy is also iconic, with associations to the US space program in the 1960s. Many astronauts chose to wear Komfit bracelets on their Omega Speedmasters.

Movado: Ready For Action!

Movado was clearly targeting soldiers in its advertising with this one.

The ad also clearly focuses on durability and being waterproof. The in-flight airplanes really jibe with the company’s name – which means “always in motion” in Esperanto – but in the ad the planes are clearly related to the war. The airplanes in the advertisement are also fitting because Movado watches were issued to Royal Air Force navigators and pilots during World War II.

The company introduced its first water-resistant wristwatch in 1935. It utilized a screwed case back with a lead gasket, along with a cork seal for the winding crown. By the 1940s, the company was claiming to be one of the pioneers in waterproof watchmaking.

Wrapping Things Up

It’s made pretty apparent just by looking at some of these ads that there’s a war going on. It’s made even more apparent in the ads that came from the 1942 magazine. As I explained in part 1 of this series, the US was already aiding the Allies in 1941, but wouldn’t actually enter WW2 formally until December of the following year. The 1942 Esquire magazine that my friend found at a thrift store was a December issue, so many of these ads are a snapshot that capture public sentiment during a very hectic time for the US – and the entire world.

Know more about Omega, Croton, Forstner, and Movado and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

The US domestic watchmaking industry focused all of its efforts on wartime production during WW2. This left a major gap in supply during the war, placing American watchmakers at a disadvantage.

Swiss watchmakers were still producing watches for civilians, however. Swiss imports already accounted for just over 60% of the US watch market by 1941. The US was already aiding the Allies at this point, but wouldn’t actually enter WW2 formally until December of the following year.

This helps explain why the majority of the watch advertisements in these magazines are for Swiss watches – not American ones. It’s also pretty easy to tell which brands are American. You’ll know because the ad will be asking you to purchase U.S. war bonds before one of its watches.

Rolex: There’ll Always Be Christmas – Even During WW2

This ad came from the 1942 magazine, and was clearly released with Christmas time in mind. This was also long before the Daytona was released, or even the iconic Submariner.

You’ll probably notice fairly quickly the difference in design language of the watches in the ad (versus modern Rolex design language). If you look closely, the model in the very middle is particularly interesting. It sports a “California” dial (with Roman numerals at the top of the dial, and Arabic numerals at the bottom).

In modern times, this type of dial is more closely associated with Panerai. Interestingly enough, Panerai utilized Rolex’s patented “sandwich” dials during WW2 – which featured the unique combination of Roman and Arabic numerals.

A more detailed (and very interesting) history of “error proof” and “California” dials can be read here. It’s a good read, covering not only the history of Panerai and Rolex, but also why this style of dial is associated with California in more recent times.

Gruen: Technically American, With A Swiss factory Up Its Sleeve

Fun fact: Rolex now owns the building that was once Gruen’s Precision Factory. Another interesting Rolex/Gruen connection is found in the 877 caliber movement, produced by Aegler Co. in 1928. These movements were used in both Rolex’s “Prince” models, as well as Gruen’s duo-dial doctor’s (aka Techni-Quadron) watches.

World War II was a time when despite the large demand, American-made wristwatches weren’t really available for civilians to purchase. This created a scenario where retailers began importing Swiss brands to fulfill the demand.

Gruen was a dual Swiss and American company, however. It was able to sell watches during the war, and was also able to keep producing at its Precision Factory after the war as well.

The first ad from November of 1941 appears to be much more civilian-oriented. The second ad, from December of 1942, is clearly more military-inspired. This makes sense, since the US didn’t formally enter WW2 until December 1941, a month after the first of the above ads was released. What a difference a year can make.

Eterna’s Friendlier ad

The ad below doesn’t directly reference any war. Instead, it’s just targeting the friends and family. Eterna makes watches for the whole family, and it wants to show you that it’s “time to remember” them.

Eterna is the forgotten founder of ETA, which today is the largest producer of finished watch movements. Both Eterna and ETA became a part of the ASUAG group in 1932 as part of an industry consolidation Basically, the name Eterna was kept for watch production, and ETA for movements. Of course ETA is now owned by Swatch Group. Eterna is owned by Citychamp Watch & Jewellery Group Limited.

Roughly six years after the publication of the above ad, Eterna released the Eterna-matic automatic movement in 1948. This new movement used five strategically placed ball bearings, making it more efficient. This also helped reduce wear and tear. The five dots in Eterna’s current logo pay homage to these five ball bearings.

Wrapping Things Up

Of the four ads in this post, the Eterna ad seems more muted than the Rolex and Gruen ads from 1942. Christmas must have been a tough one that year. Like the Rolex ad, Gruen’s 1942 ad is clearly referencing Christmas. It also appears more patriotic, which figures since Gruen was based out of Cincinnati, Ohio. You can almost feel the influence of the war environment seeping through these ads.

The slogan, “BUY A GRUEN WATCH… BUT BUY A WAR BOND FIRST!”, clearly demonstrates the country’s priorities at the time. There’s also the disclaimer: “Gruen continues to manufacture only such quantities of watches as will not interfere with our aid to our government in the War program”. That’s something unique to the American Gruen that you likely won’t see on any of the other ads for Swiss watches.

The contrast in tone between Gruen’s 1941 ad and 1942 ad is pretty interesting by itself, in my opinion. It captures an entire shift in the country’s mentality in the span of a year.

Know more about Rolex, Gruen, and Eterna and want to add to the discussion? Please post a comment below!

The Early Years

Tissot started back in 1853 in Le Locle. A father and son team consisting of Charles-Félicien Tissot and Charles-Émile Tissot began creating watches by assembling parts acquired from other suppliers. Tissot also introduced the first pocket watch with two time zones this year.

Five years later, around 1858, Charles-Émile went off to Russia. The company was selling pocket watches all across the Russian Empire by this time, and its watches even made it to the Tsar’s court. Tissot actually delivered a watch to Czar Nicholas II in 1904.

Russia was Tissot’s biggest market before the revolution of 1917. Approximately a year before the revolution, Tissot introduced its “Banana” watch, which was very popular in Russia at the time. Someone actually returned one of these to the Tissot factory for service, but because it wasn’t legal to return it after the revolution, it apparently still sits in the company’s factory in Le locle. It also inspired the modern Tissot Heritage Prince model.

After the events of 1917 in Russia, Tissot realized it needed to find new markets. This led to an increased focus on wristwatches. During the October Revolution, Charles Tissot sent a letter to his brother explaining that:

“Present demand in the watch market is increasingly concentrated on small pieces, indeed the smaller the better.”

The Independent Years leading Up To The Great Depression

By 1918 Tissot had transformed itself into a legitimate manufacturer. It started to mass produce ébauches for its movements on its own premises. Starting as early as 1925, the seeds were being sown for a merger. A merger that wouldn’t take place until 1930.

Tissot would produce the first anti-magnetic wristwatch in 1930. This would also be the year it merged with Omega. It would produce certain calibers under the Omega brand (and vice-versa), and the two companies would share a common production plan. This arrangement would also lead to some of Tissot’s calibers being produced by Lemania as well.

The Blockbuster Merger That Changed The History Of Tissot Forever

The Wall Street crash of 1929 disrupted economies around the world. One of the consequences of the crash would result in a merger. Two companies, Omega and Tissot, would form an alliance to pool resources and to ride things out. The year was 1930.

Lemania would also become a member of the newly formed group SSIH (Société Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogère SA) two years later, in 1932. The famed Omega caliber 321 is based on a Lemania movement, so we can see the importance the celebrated manufacturer of chronograph movements contributed to the group. Tissot chronographs from the 1930s and 1940s can be found with Lemania movements as well.

Interestingly, when SSIH was restructuring, and in the course of a management buyout in 1981, Lemania was actually separated from SSIH group and changed its name to Nouvelle Lemania. It was then purchased by Breguet in 1992, and Breguet, like Omega and Tissot, is now part of Swatch group. Swatch acquired Breguet (and thus Lemania) in 1999.

History Of Tissot During The SSIH Years

Tissot’s anti-magnetic movements would be distributed all over the world by 1933. This allowed it to gain a major share of the market for some time. These anti-magnetic watches were especially popular from the mid 1940s to the mid 1950s.

After Tissot’s pioneering anti-magnetic automatics were introduced, they were heavily imitated by other brands. Tissot continued innovating. It introduced the Navigator in 1953, This was the first mass-produced wristwatch to to feature 24 time zones.

In 1952, a poll was taken, according to Tissot: The Story Of A Watch Company (page 168). The poll revealed that Tissot was the second most well-known wath company in Switzerland (after Omega). Its slogan at the time was “Tissot – Switzerland’s favourite watch”.

Between 1930 and 1960, Tissot produced around 72 different calibers. It also began to branch into sports watches by the 1960s.

The above 1960s advertisement is for the Tissot PR516. An advertising campaign that led to a large amount of sales was created to target those “young at heart”.

The “hand-on-the-wheel + PR516 with a perforated bracelet was born”, after a strip of perforated metal sparked the inspiration for the perforated bracelet according to Tissot: The Story Of A Watch Company (page 184). This perforated bracelet, paired with the image of a race car steering wheel, helped Tissot in creating a more modern brand image.

Tissot’s long-term goal was “to dominate the mid-sector of the watch market” by the late 1970s. Trouble was brewing, however, as quartz watches began dominating the whole watch industry.

Another Crisis, Another Foundational Merger

SSIH became insolvent by the late 1970s, and its creditors took control of it by 1981. The Quartz Crisis was devastating for SSIH, but also for one of its competitiors – ASUAG (“Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG”, French “Société Générale de l’Horlogerie Suisse”).

ASUAG was the world’s largest producer of watch movements and components. It merged with SSIH in 1983, forming the basis for what would become the modern Swatch Group. All watch movement manufacturers were consolidated into ETA.

Swatch is the owner of Swatch today, which gives it access to iconic movements such as the ETA 2892 and Valjoux 7750. This also gives Tissot access to these movements, which are being reinvigorated into updated versions like the Powermatic 80.

Tissot Today

The modern Tissot doesn’t manufacturer its own movements. It doesn’t even really enjoy “in-house” movements powering its watches – unlike its longtime stablemate Omega. Tissot remains a solid entry-level brand, however, and has unrivaled history and heritage as an innovator. The Powermatic 80 movements that it shares with its Swatch stablemates like Certina and Mido are also arguably some of the best money can buy (at least in the price bracket Tissot currently resides in).