This 1914 solid silver wristwatch by Longines is the oldest wrist watch we have ever been able to offer, proven by the Longines extract.

HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?

We have the Longines Extract from the Archive for this watch, which tells us it was invoiced to their UK agent at the time, Baume & Co., on 27th February 1914.  We have double checked the serial number on the inside of the case matches the one on the Extract.

CONDITION

The first wristwatch, excluding pocket watches strapped to wrists, was the Cartier Santos in 1904.  It was designed with practicality in mind – Santos was an early flight pioneer and wanted to be able to see the time without removing the pocket watch.  Trench watches similarly became far more practical when fighting a war than pocket watches.  But it wasn’t a big hit straight away – in 1916, two years after this watch was made, the NY Times did an article asking why Europeans were wearing watches on the wrists!  The red 12 on early watches like this was to help orientate the wearer to where 12 was.  In 1914 the original owner of this watch would have been quite the early adopter!

This watch is made from high grade silver – 0.935 is about as high as silver cases get (Sterling silver is 0.925, and continental or Indian silver was often .800).  Inside you have a manual wind Longines movement, calibre 12.91, which is still running and keeping time.  The thin lugs mean we have used a nylon one piece strap, backed with a leather bund, which doesn’t have to be used.  The dial has some dirt on it but overall looks very good.  The acrylic glass is likely a replacement, as celluloid would have turned yellow by now.  Neither the dial nor the hands have any lume on them, so those that prefer not to have radium in their house will be fine with this example.

This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box, Longines Extract from the Archive and our Certificate of Authenticity.

Please see the HD video for more detail.  All photos and videos are part of the description and are of the actual watch unless mentioned.  We do not photoshop any pictures, and the images are copyright of birthyearwatches.com and should not be used without permission.

​SIZE

Width with crown  34.9 mm

Width without crown  32.5 mm

Between lugs  12 mm

Lug to lug length  36.6 mm

Case Thickness  10.9 mm

All sizes are approximate.  The watch is photographed on a wrist of 190mm/7.5 inches.

Included with this watch is a 3 month guarantee and free delivery to UK addresses.  If you live outside the UK we can still deliver to most countries.  Please see our Worldwide Shipping information, or Contact Us.   Payment can be made by most credit or debit cards, bank transfer or PayPal.

From 1st September 2021 we will be planting a tree for every watch we sell, working with the International Tree Foundation (Est 1922) to make this business positive on carbon.  By buying anything pre owned you are effectively reusing what already exists, but this takes it further and makes us feel good.

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