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1930s Girard Perregaux 1791 17J 14K Gold Filled Rectangular 14mm Manual Wind Runs — view 1 of 4
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

1930s Girard Perregaux 1791 17J 14K Gold Filled Rectangular 14mm Manual Wind Runs

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.
Maker / attribution
Girard (maker)
Date
1930s
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Lot
Item 226435435
Credit line
Auction lot record: lot 355, EXCLUSIVE WATCHES AND POCKET WATCHES 7, Sphere Auctions LLC (2026), via LiveAuctioneers
Catalogue title (original)
1930s Girard Perregaux 1791 17J 14K Gold Filled Rectangular 14mm Manual Wind Runs (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by LiveAuctioneers auction archive (lot Item 226435435), this is a wristwatch by Girard, dated 1930s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 4 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

Lot description — Sphere Auctions LLC

Circa 1930s Girard Perregaux rectangular wristwatch signed Girard Perregaux 1791 on dial. Manual wind Swiss movement signed Girard Perregaux & Co, Seventeen 17 Jewels, Unadjusted, movement serial 732100.Rectangular case marked 14K Gold Filled with S&W maker mark. Interior caseback stamped G.P. in oval with case numbers B 1545 and 636245.Case measures approximately 14mm as shown in caliper photo. Watch is running. Service recommended. No guarantee of accuracy, power reserve, or continued runtime.Itemized DetailsBrand: Girard PerregauxYear: Circa 1930sModel Marking: 1791Case Size: 14mm (shown)Case Material: 14K Gold FilledCase Maker: S&WCaseback Interior: G.P. B 1545 636245Movement: Manual wind SwissJewels: 17Adjustment: UnadjustedMovement Serial: 732100Dial: Cream with Arabic numeralsStrap: Cord style strapCondition: Running. Visible wear consistent with age. Service recommended. No guarantee of accuracy, power reserve, or continued runtime.

Historical context

Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)

The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.

The wristwatch overtook the pocket watch. Military use in the First World War, aviation, water-resistant cases (1926), automatic winding (1923–31), rectangular Art Deco designs and early chronographs and calendars defined the period.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Industrial Revolution

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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