This Calatrava style Longines men’s watch is from they were at their peak, and has the 12.68z movement inside too.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the serial number on the movement we can accurately date this watch to being made in 1953. The case is stamped Baume, who were Longines UK partner, and is hallmarked for a year earlier. It was common practice to fit Swiss movements to English cases to avoid punitive taxation on completed gold watches.
CONDITION
Most watches from this period in time were between 30-33 mm in case size, so to find this Longines in a much larger 35.4mm gold case is a really good catch. The case is made by DS&S, who made cases for a lot of top Swiss brands, and the movements would be fitted to these made to measure cases in the UK and therefore legally avoiding the very high import duty on finished watches. The case has a stepped design bezel with cut out to make the crown sit more flush, and is in quite good order. The dial is all original, with plenty of patina and gilt hour markers. The calibre 12.68z movement is a peach, and it is running well. It may be subjective, but it is a pleasure to wind this in the morning. The leather strap is new, and could be swapped for a different colour if preferred.
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 36.4 mm
Width without crown 35.4 mm
Between lugs 17 mm
Lug to lug length 40.0 mm
Case Thickness 10.0 mm
All sizes are approximate.
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.