This barrel shaped watch from Mappin & Webb jewellers is unusual in being an automatic when quartz was predominate.

HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?

From the inscription on the case back we can accurately date this watch to being engraved for 25 years between 1955 and 1980.  The papers with this watch have a date for 1981, but that is possibly when the guarantee expired.  1980 is a more concrete date.

CONDITION

Mappin & Webb have a history going back to 1775, that includes various Royal households and generally being a high end jeweller to the rich and famous.  They don’t put their name on things too lightly, and while they would not have made this watch they would have chosen the specification.  Most people associate a 25 year watch with having a gold case, but this is 10 micron gold plated – the reason is likely that gold was at a staggering high in 1980, having risen by a factor of 4.5 over the previous decade, so gold cased watches were now hugely expensive.  The other thing that was expensive were mechanical movement compared to the cheaper quartz movements, particularly those from the far east, but here Mappin & Webb did insist on a 21 jewel ETA 2824 automatic movement with quick set date.  Everything is working correctly.  The dial has a few small marks, including a light scratch which is difficult to see without magnification.  The outer edge of the crown has some wear to the plating, but that is the worst of it.  The leather strap is new, and could be swapped for a different colour if preferred.

This watch will be supplied with the original presentation box, papers with a misprint Mapin & Webb hand completed with the date 18-9-81, 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  33.8 mm

Width without crown  31.9 mm

Between lugs  19 mm

Lug to lug length  37.8 mm

Case Thickness  9.1 mm

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

Included with this watch is a 2 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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