WITTNAUER GENÈVE "ABALONE" WATCH CA. 1970
€ 550.00
Wittnauer is a watch and clock company that was founded in New Rochelle, New York, in 1885 by Swiss immigrant Albert Wittnauer.
Albert Wittnauer was a Swiss immigrant who arrived in New York in 1872 at the age of 16. He began working for his brother-in-law, Eugene Robert, who was an importer of fine Swiss watches. Albert Wittnauer felt there was a market in America for a low-priced Swiss-made watch.
The first line of Wittnauer watches was manufactured from 1880 onwards, but the Wittnauer brand was officially created in 1885, when Mr. Robert gave the title to Albert Wittnauer under the name "A. Société Wittnauer". Wittnauer's movements were initially generally made for them by Swiss companies (Revue Thommen and others), while later Wittnauer used a number of different sources for their movements. The company started out as a small family business, catering to the ever-growing world of scientific and private exploration, which earned them a good reputation among those who needed reliability: navigators, explorers and astronomers.
A. Wittnauer Co. became more involved with the U.S. Navy for early trials in the nascent fields of aviation and navigation. Of the Wittnauer company and its products, watchmaker Marvin E. Whitney wrote: "No company has been more involved in the design and production of so many different types of navigational watches and has been involved in so many historic expeditions...".
Wittnauer products have been widely used in scientific expeditions and exploration, and were - along with Longines movements - one of the three contenders for the first mission to the moon, along with Omega Speedmaster and Rolex Daytona.
In 1950, the Swiss company Longines bought Wittnauer and marketed very similar watch lines under both brands, now separate factories.
In 1995, Swatch broke off the 125-year collaboration between Longines and Wittnauer and took over the distribution of Longines. The Wittnauer Company maintained its reputation for most of the 20th century. After some budgetary problems, it was finally bought by Bulova.
This model is a curiosity. Its green "abalone" dial is a rare eccentricity in the Wittnauer-Longines collection. This is a Wittnauer "Genève" version.
It is in very good condition for its age. The case is gold-plated and the caseback in stainless steel. The glass is fitted with a magnifying glass at 3 o'clock for the date. A micro impact is visible on the crystal at 9 o'clock, but only from very close up. The watch is powered by a Wittnauer ETA 2783 automatic movement, probably dating from the 1970s.
A very beautiful and unusual watch. Very rare.
Manufacturer: Wittnauer
Model: Automatic
Catalogue number: N/A
Year: Circa 1975
Materials: N/A
Dimensions: Case diameter 33 mm total height 40 mm
Caliber: Automatic, Wittnauer
Strap: New buffalo leather 18 mm wide
Box/paper: No
