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Gold Plated Vintage Jump Hours Watch, circa 1920s — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Gold Plated Vintage Jump Hours Watch, circa 1920s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
c. 1920s
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Materials / technique
gold
Dimensions
Case 25 mm
Stock no.
vws2518
Credit line
Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws2518)
Catalogue title (original)
Gold Plated Vintage Jump Hours Watch - c.1920s (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws2518), this is a wristwatch, dated c. 1920s. 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 25 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

A Charming Gold-Plated Vintage Jump Hours Watch With Three Apertures Displaying Hours, Minutes and Seconds. In Beautiful Vintage Condition, c.1920s The history of the jump hour watch complication goes back to the 1880s when Austrian engineer Josef Pallweber created the first of its kind. Rather than a traditional analogue display with two hands, jump hour (also called jumping hour) watches use a rotating disc with hour digits revealed through an aperture in the dial. Every 60 minutes, the disc instantly advances to the next hour, hence the animated name. What’s On Offer How utterly charming is this gold-plated jump hours watch? The gold is stunning in the flesh (the pictures do not do it justice) and it wears beautifully on the wrist. This piece is slightly larger than most of the jump-hours watches we generally see at 25mm wide and 37mm lug to lug - I suggest it wears like a mid-size tank watch. It has three apertures to display hours, minutes and seconds and although the windows are small, they are certainly visible. The seconds wheel is also imprinted with 'Swiss' at 30. The movement is unsigned so we have very little technical information about this watch, however, it is running well after a recent service and the case is marked Brevet (patented) and we think this watch dates back to the 1920s. Additional information Made from Case: Gold Plated Dial: Gold Crystal: N/A Bracelet: Leather pin buckle Technical specifications Winding: Manual Movement Type: Mechanical Calibre: Jewels: Waterproof: Power reserve: Purchase details Condition: Excellent Model Reference: Date of issue: c.1920s Dimensions Width (without crown): 25mm Lug width: 14mm Lug height: (lug to lug) 37mm Wrist size: Adjustable

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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