Wristwatches · Wristwatch
18ct white gold Chopard Eclipse wristwatch with blue dial, 1970
- Maker / attribution
- Chopard (maker)
- Date
- 1970
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- white gold
- Dimensions
- Case 25 mm
- Stock no.
- G3578
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G3578)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 18ct white gold Chopard Eclipse wristwatch with blue dial. Made 1970 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G3578), this is a wristwatch by Chopard, made in Switzerland, dated 1970. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: white gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 25 mm. The record is illustrated with 2 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Somlo Antiques
In 1860, Louis-Ulysse Chopard established his workshop in the small village of Sonvilier, Switzerland. Chopard began to produce timepieces with merit, precision and reliability and he quickly gained a solid reputation among enthusiasts and found buyers as far afield as Eastern Europe, Russia and Scandinavia. In 1921, the founder’s son, Paul Louis Chopard, opened a branch in La Chaux-de-Fonds and subsequently relocated the company headquarters there. By 1937, he moved the firm to Geneva, the capital of Haute Horlogerie, or Fine Watchmaking, thereby bringing it closer to its cosmopolitan clientele. In 1943, Paul André Chopard, grandson of Louis-Ulysse, took the helm. In 1963 he sought a buyer capable of reviving and perpetuating the brand’s rich heritage, since none of his sons wished to take over the company. This was when he met Karl Scheufele, descendant of a dynasty of watchmakers and jewellers from Pforzheim, Germany. After a brief meeting, Karl Scheufele decided to buy the company. Under the impetus of the Scheufele family, Chopard experienced spectacular development. Renowned for its creativity, its state-of-the-art technology and the excellence of its craftsmen, it became one of the leading names in the high-end watch and jewellery industry. Brand: Chopard Made: 1970 Model: Eclipse Reference: 5038-1 Calibre: - Movement: Manual Material : 18ct white gold Features/complications: - Dial: Blue dial with 18ct white gold dauphine hands Case dimensions: 41 x 25mm Bracelet/strap: Leather strap Accessories: N/A SKU: 3578
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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