This Crawford military inspired vintage chronograph has the original black dial and the Venus 170 manual wind movement.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
Crawford were established in June 1939, but the Venus movement was not launched until 1942 so this watch must post date that. The choice of materials for the case suggests that the best metals were still going to the military, so we are estimating this watch was made circa 1945. The case back serial number starts 43, which might be for 1943, but without further information we will stick with 1945.
CONDITION
The Venus 170 chronograph movement is good quality ebauche used by many companies, including Breitling and Heuer ad in either of those brands this would be a £3,000 watch, but in a minor brand like Crawford it is much more affordable. It has 17 jewels and a column wheel (sometimes called a pillar wheel) action rather than the later, cheaper cam action that came to prominence in the 1960’s. The unusual layout of the minute counter at 12, and constant seconds at 6 is a nice aesthetic rather than the side to side conventional layout. The black gilt dial is good, and black dials of this period are rare. It is original. The hour and minute hands look to be either later replacements or have been relumed with a more modern material , but this was done a while ago judging by how the lume has faded. The flanks of the case do show various marks and scratches, typical of the softer metal used when supply of valuable materials went to the war effort. Only the case back is stainless steel. The good quality strap has some slight scuff marks on the part nearest the case, but to our eye that kinda works with this case. The size is small but perfectly wearable today, thanks to the larger 18mm lugs and 13mm depth of the watch.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
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SIZE
Width with crown 34.2 mm
Width without crown 32.2 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 38.0 mm
Case Thickness 13.3 mm
All sizes are approximate.
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.
