A highly desirable Master Mariner divers chronograph from Le Cheminant. Model reference W.398
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
From the advert from 1967 we can assume this watch was made during a similar year. This date also fits with the production dates of the movement.
CONDITION
MaNy people will not have heard of Le Cheminant, but we are quite the fans and buy them whenever we can find them. They have been making watches since 1822, so do have some serious history to them. But regardless of the brand, the elements of this watch read like a list of the most popular things people are looking for – black dial, tritium lume, chronograph, divers watch and steel case and all original. Finding them all together is quite rare, as making a chronograph waterproof is three times as complicated as a normal watch, as you have to seal the pushers too. This was originally rated to 150M, when serious dive watches like a Rolex Submariner were rated to 200M, so it was an impressive achievement (but no vintage watch should get wet, so don’t try and test that now!). Inside the case is a Landeron 149 manual wind movement, which has a 45 minute chronograph function. All is working well. The black dial has faded, as has the tritium lume, all very nicely and showing originality. The lume in the hour and minute hand has cracked. The bezel is bi directional and without clicks, and has the lume pip in place at 12. There is also a hint of red on the bezel – at 46 minutes and 25 minutes. So if you wanted to repaint the numerals that would have been the colourscheme. The leather strap is new, and could be swapped for a different colour if preferred or a bracelet – the lugs are in imperial sizes, so either a 19mm or a 20mm strap can be made to fit.
This watch will be supplied with our branded presentation box and our Certificate of Authenticity.
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SIZE
Width with crown 40.4 mm
Width without crown 36.8 mm
Between lugs 19.4 mm (3/4″)
Lug to lug length 46.6 mm
Case Thickness 12.7 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.
