Commonly known as drivers style, the dial in this Waltham watch is turned 90 degrees for convenience to read while holding something.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the serial number on the movement we can accurately date this watch to being made in 1914. We have also found references to similar watches from the same time period in Bruce Shawkey’s Waltham Wristwatch collectors guide book.
CONDITION
Given the time this watch was made, the prospective wearer may not have been driving but instead holding a gun. Waltham also made watches with metal ‘shrapnel guards’ at this time, as the First World War did lead to more men wearing wristwatches that could be read hands free when holding a rifle. Technically, a drivers style watch isn’t a challenge – if you have a sub seconds movement at 3 on a normal watch, you remake the dial just turned 90 degrees and there you go. The movement is Waltham’s 1900, a seven jewel manual wind movement with nice decoration. Power reserve, or how long the watch runs for, is a bit low at around 18 hours in this example. The case is from the Philadelphia Watch Company and the case back is numbers matched to the main part of the case. Although it doesn’t say it on the case, the Victory cases like these were usually gold filled, hence the lack of wear showing. The white dial and blued hands are in great condition. The plastic crystal is lumed slightly, and can be swapped for a clear crystal if preferred. The leather bund style strap is new, and could be swapped for a a more standard strap if preferred. The watch is signed on the dial, case and movement.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box 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 34.5 mm
Width without crown 30.2 mm
Between lugs 16 mm
Lug to lug length 37.6 mm
Case Thickness 11.2 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.
