This Swiss Emperor De Luxe 57 jewels automatic watch is a nice example of something called false jewelling.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
We cannot be 100% accurate with this watch, but given the dates the movement was in production and the that it must pre date the 1962 court case that banned false jewelling we estimate this was made circa 1955.
CONDITION
In a watch a jewel is a small red synthetic ruby with a hole in it to allow a pivot to spin freely and last longer. Some low end watches have no jewels, and the more functions and the higher the cost the higher the jewel count in general. You can easily find decent automatic movements with 17 jewels, but a higher option was either 21 or 25 jewels. The general public started to associate higher jewel count on the dial with higher quality, and some manufacturers took to over of false jewelling their movements. False jewelling involves adding non functional jewels, sometimes just stuck on the plates or oscillating weight, to then advertise 41, 57 jewels or even 99 jewels on the dial. This practice was outlawed in January 1962, and the penalty was two years hard labour!
You can not even see the surplus jewels fitted to the Felsa 4002 movement here, and it likely has 25 functional jewels. You also have a calendar, and the movement is all working well. The dial has faded and has even patina, but the red print for 57 jewels is still a nice touch (especially when you know the story behind it!). The case is 20 micron gold plated, and does show some wear to the lug tips. You also get drilled lugs to make strap changes easier. 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 36.9 mm
Width without crown 34.8 mm
Between lugs 18 mm
Lug to lug length 41.7 mm
Case Thickness 10.8 mm
All sizes are approximate.
Included with this watch is a 1 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.