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Eros 9k Gold Tank Cased Watch, Art Deco Style, 1941 Christmas Inscription, Hallmarked, circa 1939 — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Eros 9k Gold Tank Cased Watch, Art Deco Style, 1941 Christmas Inscription, Hallmarked, circa 1939

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
c. 1939
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Materials / technique
gold
Dimensions
Case 23 mm
Stock no.
vws3941cs
Credit line
Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3941cs)
Catalogue title (original)
Eros 9k Gold Tank Cased Watch - Art Deco Style - 1941 Christmas Inscription - Hallmarked c.1939 (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3941cs), this is a wristwatch, dated c. 1939. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 23 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 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 — Vintage Watch Specialist

An elegant and charming 9k Gold Eros Tank Watch with Edinburgh Hallmarks and British Watch Cases Ltd Case, c.1939 Eros was a Swiss watch brand active during the early to mid-20th century, producing stylish timepieces that reflected the Art Deco elegance of the era. With their distinctive rectangular cases, clean enamel dials, and reliable manual-wind movements, Eros watches combined practicality with fashionable design. Though less well-known than some of their Swiss contemporaries, surviving examples are now sought after for their rarity, vintage appeal, and ability to capture the character of 1930s and 1940s watchmaking. What's on Offer We are delighted to present this elegant Eros tank-cased wristwatch, cased in solid 9k gold with Edinburgh hallmarks dating it to 1939. The case also bears the “BWC” stamp for British Watch Cases Ltd, a renowned maker of quality cases during this period. The gold-toned dial features stylised Arabic numerals, a subsidiary seconds register at 6, and retains plenty of vintage charm with a warm patina. Inside ticks a reliable manual-wind Swiss movement, numbered 720960. At 23mm wide, the rectangular case wears with classic Art Deco proportions, making it both refined and wearable today. Paired with a leather strap, this 1930s timepiece offers collectors a wonderful opportunity to acquire a rare pre-war watch with period hallmarks and timeless styling. What makes this watch particularly special is the hand-engraved inscription on the case back. This personal dedication, dated Christmas Day 1941, adds historical intrigue and sentimental depth, making the watch not only a wearable slice of horological history but also a tangible piece of human story from the wartime era.

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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