Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Fischer Extra 'Exotic' Dial Chronograph, early 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Fischer Extra (maker)
- Date
- early 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 37 mm
- Stock no.
- 40990093
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40990093)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Fischer Extra 'Exotic' Dial Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40990093), this is a wristwatch by Fischer Extra, dated early 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 37 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 — Analog/Shift
Why We Love It There is no doubt that interesting chronographs hold a special place in the hearts of many collectors. So many interesting watch brands have been lost to time. From the well-known to the completely unrecognizable, any number of Swiss labels failed to survive the Quartz Crisis of the 1970s, folding completely or being rolled up into conglomerates that pillaged their stores of parts. Fischer Extra is one such brand. Not much is known about Fischer, other than that they produced gauges and instrumentation in the early 1900s. What we DO know is that this watch - a stainless steel chronograph dating from the early 1970s - was produced under contract as a private label by a larger company, likely Heuer, using top-grade components. Featuring a 37mm stainless steel cushion case with a domed acrylic crystal, a hand-cranking Valjoux chronograph movement, and a fantastic fluorescent exotic dial with both pulsometer and tachymeter scales and a matching 'cigarette' handset, this watch shapes up to be a very well rounded and appealing timepiece that packs a punch... Dare we say a knockout? Chronographs such as this one are fun and wonderful timepieces, and there's no telling if and when one of these will surface again, so don't wait!
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
Chronographs and split-seconds watches
A chronograph is a watch with an additional seconds hand that can be started, stopped and returned to zero independently of the timekeeping. Louis Moinet built an early example in 1816 and Nicolas Rieussec a recording 'chronographe' in 1821; Adolphe Nicole's heart-shaped reset cam (patented 1862) made the modern return-to-zero possible. Split-seconds (rattrapante) chronographs add a second hand that can be stopped for intermediate times; flyback chronographs restart instantly.
Chronographs were essential tools for doctors (pulsometer scales), artillery (telemeter), engineers and sport. In wristwatches, Valjoux, Venus, Lemania and later the automatic chronographs of 1969 (Zenith El Primero, the Chronomatic Calibre 11 group and Seiko 6139) are milestones.
What to look for
- Push-pieces on the case band or a single button in the crown (monopusher).
- Subsidiary registers for minutes and hours; tachymeter, telemeter or pulsometer scales.
- Column wheel versus cam control visible in the movement.
- Calibre markings of specialist makers (Valjoux, Lemania, Venus, Landeron).
Dating clues
- Pocket chronographs with heart cam reset: after 1862.
- Wrist chronographs: from c. 1910; two-button designs from the 1930s.
- Automatic chronographs: from 1969.
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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