Really interesting model this – a Wittnauer divers watch but with a factory fitted Seiko automatic movement.
HOW DO WE DATE THIS WATCH?
Wittnauer watches date back to 1880, but they are best known as the US importers for Longines, Le Coultre and Vacheron Constantin, but they also made their own watches made for them to offer alongside. These normally were made in Switzerland using Swiss movements, just offered at a cheaper price (see the advert we found!). But this has a Japanese Seiko movement, that was in production between 1976 and 1996, and that gives us our dating boundries. The style of this watch is more 70’s than 80’s or 90’s so we have opted for circa 1978.
CONDITION
Our first thought when we initially appraised this watch was that it had MADE IN JAPAN on the dial, and that didn’t fit what we knew about Wittnauer watches. But the movement had no manual winding, so we were confident that it would have a Seiko movement inside and we were correct. The automatic movement is engraved W100 and with the company name on the winding weight, but it is actually a Seiko calibre 7009A. That gives it the ‘frogs legs’ winding system, quick set date and day wheel in English. It also means that getting spares in future should be easy if required. The watch is more desk diver than a serious tool – for example the bezel turns both directions without clicks, and the crown doesn’t screw down, but that doesn’t matter anyway as no vintage watch should get wet. The dial is a loveley two tone blue, and both dial and hands are in good condition. The bracelet is quite long and our sister website, SpareLinks.com, may have extra links if required. The bracelet has been cleaned in our ultrasonic bath.
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 mm
Width without crown 37.0 mm
Between lugs 10 mm
Lug to lug length 45.5 mm
Case Thickness mm
Bracelet will fit a maximum wrist size of 194 mm. The bracelet can be sized for you if you give us your wrist size when placing the order.
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.
