Watches from each decade - Share your watches Part 4: The 40s
The WWII is of course the theme for 40s. First the devastating battles not ending until 1944 leaving Europe and other parts of the world in ruins. Followed by the rebuild of buildings and infrastructure as well as establishment of new countries. My country was not directly involved in the war. Instead it had an unharmed industry ready to benefit from this rebuild.
Military watches are common in the 40s for obvious reasons. The decade is also a period for manually wound Chronograhs with movements produced by primarily Landeron, Lemania, Valjoux and Venus.
After the war Winston Churchill was one of many receiving a Rolex watch, an Oyster Perpetual, from Hans Wilsdorf as gesture of gratitude for his efforts during the war.
If you are the proud owner of a watch from this era please share them with us here on the forum.
I collect new as well as vintage. I have a weak spot for 50s and 60s Omegas. Besides from those I consider myself allround.
A bit slow on a Sunday so I start with my own samples from the decade. They are solely Omega Suverans. You know the story. Imported to, and sold in, Sweden during WWII to improve the states finances. I started off with the gray and black found at my local AD. Lately I added two more from abroad creating a small sub-collection.
Well, I've got quite a bit of watches from that decade... Here's most of them, except 2 Eternas and 2 Rotary.
Doxa, made for - and issued to - the Luftwaffe during WW2
1946 Omega MI 2214:
1949 Omega CK 2537-4
Roamer, made for Turler, 1948:
Spillman-cased Alpina with pontife hands:
1947 Tissot Antimagnetique with a 14K gold case:
DuBois with a two-tone sector dial:
Late 1940s (though this one could be early 1950s, no way of telling) Wittnauer:
1948 Zenith:
Well, I've got quite a bit of watches from that decade... Here's most of them, except 2 Eternas and 2 Rotary.
Doxa, made for - and issued to - the Luftwaffe during WW2
1946 Omega MI 2214:
1949 Omega CK 2537-4
Roamer, made for Turler, 1948:
Spillman-cased Alpina with pontife hands:
1947 Tissot Antimagnetique with a 14K gold case:
DuBois with a two-tone sector dial:
Late 1940s (though this one could be early 1950s, no way of telling) Wittnauer:
1948 Zenith:
Impressive bunch of watches there. That Roamer/Turler is a stunner amongst stunners.
OK - just finished the 1930s...here are the 1940s in the collection...
Doxa Chronograph (1947) NOS (sorry couldn't locate the wrist shot for this one)
Dugena Festa (1940s)
Eberhard Chronographe (1940s)
Favre-Leuba Sandow (1940s)
Helvetia (Omega) WWII Military Watch (1940s)
Heuer Triple Date Calendar Chronograph (1940s)
Jaeger-LeCoultre WWII British Army Military G.S.T.P. Pocket Watch (1940s)
Leonidas Chronograph (1947)
Marvin Chronograph VAL22 (1940s)
Minerva Chronograph (1947)
Pierce Chronograph (1940s)
Sexima Chronograph (1940s)
Synchron Aureole (1940s)
Universal Geneve Mono Pusher Chronograph (1940s)
In the spirit of also sharing some of the reissued watches inspired by the 1940s, here are some reissues to follow the vintage list:
Airain Type 20 Version B Chronograph
Alpina 130 Heritage Pilot Chronograph
Bulova Banker Limited Edition of 350 Joseph Bulova Collection (sorry no wrist shot yet)
Bulova Breton Limited Edition of 350 Joseph Bulova Collection (sorry no wrist shot yet)
Certina DS Chronograph
Eterna 1940 Chronograph Telemeter 42mm Dual
Hanhart Pioneer TachyTele
Hanhart 417 Chronograph “Copperhead” Bronze Edition
Hanhart 417 ES Chronograph
Montblanc 1858 Split Second Chronograph LE-18
Omega Speedmaster Chronoscope Co-Axial Master Chronometer
OK - just finished the 1930s...here are the 1940s in the collection...
Doxa Chronograph (1947) NOS (sorry couldn't locate the wrist shot for this one)
Dugena Festa (1940s)
Eberhard Chronographe (1940s)
Favre-Leuba Sandow (1940s)
Helvetia (Omega) WWII Military Watch (1940s)
Heuer Triple Date Calendar Chronograph (1940s)
Jaeger-LeCoultre WWII British Army Military G.S.T.P. Pocket Watch (1940s)
Leonidas Chronograph (1947)
Marvin Chronograph VAL22 (1940s)
Minerva Chronograph (1947)
Pierce Chronograph (1940s)
Sexima Chronograph (1940s)
Synchron Aureole (1940s)
Universal Geneve Mono Pusher Chronograph (1940s)
Truly amazing! Thank you for sharing🙏
Handhart and Omega nailed it IMO. I put the 417 ES on my prospect list.
Handhart and Omega nailed it IMO. I put the 417 ES on my prospect list.
On the Hanhart, I think they did a traditional version recently with TGV that was 39mm. Not sure what your wrist size if, but if smaller than 7.5 inches the 39mm would be the better option. The Revolution x Hanhart "Copperhead" is 39mm and really looks great.
Got WW2 covered: my Grandfather was in the British army. He was in Singapore, and captured by the Japanese and made to build the railroad in the Bermese Jungle... aaaand Wifies grandfather who was a Japanese pilot and my grandpas mortal enemy!
Both of them were among the rare and lucky survivors among of the big event.
Times change and amazingly neither of them harbored any hate of their enemy after the war, and passed none to either of our respective generations. Whoop whoop!
While he wasn't a bomber pilot, grandpa did have a pocket chronograph. The Walters A-8 is a bonkers stopwatch that was mass produced for the war effort to allow bomber navigators to quickly calculate their groundspeed (vs airspeed) using the plane shadow.
The A-8 was affectionately known as the 'jitterbug' because of the loud and fast ticking of the (very tiny) balance. What's fast, you ask? 144,000 beats per hour is fast-four times as fast as Zenith's high beat El Primero. Too bad I can't post a video, but it's worth looking for. That nutty loud ticking and crazy fast tenth of a second hand.
Got WW2 covered: my Grandfather was in the British army. He was in Singapore, and captured by the Japanese and made to build the railroad in the Bermese Jungle... aaaand Wifies grandfather who was a Japanese pilot and my grandpas mortal enemy!
Both of them were among the rare and lucky survivors among of the big event.
Times change and amazingly neither of them harbored any hate of their enemy after the war, and passed none to either of our respective generations. Whoop whoop!
While he wasn't a bomber pilot, grandpa did have a pocket chronograph. The Walters A-8 is a bonkers stopwatch that was mass produced for the war effort to allow bomber navigators to quickly calculate their groundspeed (vs airspeed) using the plane shadow.
The A-8 was affectionately known as the 'jitterbug' because of the loud and fast ticking of the (very tiny) balance. What's fast, you ask? 144,000 beats per hour is fast-four times as fast as Zenith's high beat El Primero. Too bad I can't post a video, but it's worth looking for. That nutty loud ticking and crazy fast tenth of a second hand.
Thank you for sharing a beautiful watch and a great story👍
Great, thank you! First (original) square. And a nice one too👍
I finally get to participate.
This one is a bit of a mystery. Milber was a brand of the Berman Watch Company. Berman was first registered in 1944, but there are some references to them casing watches in the late 1930's. The mystery is that the case engraving on the back puts this watch at 1943. That is the danger of relying on engravings to date watches. This is military style watch. This style was popular through the early 1950's. I would put this closer to the War's end.
Another military style watch, probably from the late 1940's. It is a Britix and measures only 30mm. The watchmaker has it now.
At 29mm this Wyler is my smallest round dial watch. This could be from the early 1950's, but I think that it is the late 1940's.
This late 1940's Waltham has a surprisingly modern size.
The movement on this Benrus dates it to 1945. For all you hooded lugs fans.
This is a Hamilton "Roland." It was only made for one year (1947 or 1948, sources vary). Hamilton made a ton of these to be young men's watch to be given at a graduation or first job. It is not rare.
1947 Bulova "Walton." Bulova are easy to identify thanks to the collective work at mybulova.com. This has the seven jewel movement.
This 1949 "His Excellency" has the 21 jewel movement. This was a luxury watch in its time.
Not shown: The watchmaker has had two of my 1940's watches for a while: a 1941 Bulova "Arnold" and a 1947 Gruen "Very-Thin" (date by inscription). I have pictures somewhere, but I can't find them. I gave them to the watchmaker before I joined WC, if that tells you about the frustrations of collecting vintage.
I finally get to participate.
This one is a bit of a mystery. Milber was a brand of the Berman Watch Company. Berman was first registered in 1944, but there are some references to them casing watches in the late 1930's. The mystery is that the case engraving on the back puts this watch at 1943. That is the danger of relying on engravings to date watches. This is military style watch. This style was popular through the early 1950's. I would put this closer to the War's end.
Another military style watch, probably from the late 1940's. It is a Britix and measures only 30mm. The watchmaker has it now.
At 29mm this Wyler is my smallest round dial watch. This could be from the early 1950's, but I think that it is the late 1940's.
This late 1940's Waltham has a surprisingly modern size.
The movement on this Benrus dates it to 1945. For all you hooded lugs fans.
This is a Hamilton "Roland." It was only made for one year (1947 or 1948, sources vary). Hamilton made a ton of these to be young men's watch to be given at a graduation or first job. It is not rare.
1947 Bulova "Walton." Bulova are easy to identify thanks to the collective work at mybulova.com. This has the seven jewel movement.
This 1949 "His Excellency" has the 21 jewel movement. This was a luxury watch in its time.
Not shown: The watchmaker has had two of my 1940's watches for a while: a 1941 Bulova "Arnold" and a 1947 Gruen "Very-Thin" (date by inscription). I have pictures somewhere, but I can't find them. I gave them to the watchmaker before I joined WC, if that tells you about the frustrations of collecting vintage.
Your collection is welcomed! Very nice pieces in the dressier scale. The Bulovas looks really great. So you are soon ”celebrating” 1 year at the watchmaker, that’s a bummer.
Your collection is welcomed! Very nice pieces in the dressier scale. The Bulovas looks really great. So you are soon ”celebrating” 1 year at the watchmaker, that’s a bummer.
Omega Seamaster DeVille: October
Bulova Arnold: November
Gruen Very-Thin: January
I want these watches back very badly. I have been replacing them with cheap imitations for a year. I just got the Benrus back and sent in the Britix. One out, one in.
About ten years after a service the Omega began to gain several minutes a day. I had it looked at and it took several months to get back. When I got it back it developed a habit of not turning over at midnight. A few weeks later it was back and I took it out of town. Day one was fine, but it was inert on day two. So, it has one or more problems.
The Bulova and Gruen each just needed a long overdue service. I also wanted the crystals changed as they appeared to be original and distracted from the look of the watches. The Gruen looked like it had been dragged on concrete. Those old glass crystals are really the worst of all worlds. However, they can take on any shape like the one on the His Excellency.
I have always heard regarding watchmakers that you can have only two of price, quality, and speed. This watchmaker has 1980's pricing and has done good work for me. That leaves speed. What should take weeks takes months. I could get it back twice as fast for twice as much or more if I mailed it away. That's how jewelry stores "fix" them.
When I dropped off the Gruen he pointed to a newspaper article that was taped up next to the cash register. It was about him and some special training that he had undertaken. He told me, "that guy doesn't exist anymore, that was 40 years ago." I think that I was pushing him too hard. He is in his mid-seventies. I forget that people who are older than I am are genuinely old.
I had one watchmaker that I had used retire last year. He was in his eighties. He told me that his hand wasn't steady enough and that he was not taking on any more work. A couple of years ago my main guy quietly disappeared and walked out on his lease. I never knew if it was health problems or something else. He was a chain smoker in his late sixties. A younger guy that I wanted to try stopped taking on new work while he recovered from lymphoma.
Finding watchmakers is hard is some places. I try to keep two busy so that I have more than one option.