Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Jardur Bezelmeter, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Jardur (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 1375320670295
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 1375320670295)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Jardur Bezelmeter (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 1375320670295), this is a wristwatch by Jardur, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 38 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 — S.Song Watches
The Jardur Bezelmeter is one of the most uniquely designed and magnificent watches that came out of the 1940’s. Produced in extremely small quantities and intended for aviation, they were tool watches that were sold in the Post Exchanges (PX) of the American Army and Navy. While they were never officially issued to the military, many army aviators and personnel purchased and used these in action. Described as a cockpit instrument for the wrist, there is a graduated countdown scale engraved into the rotatable bezel, where the user can align duration hours with the hour hand to keep track of flight time. Furthermore, there is a red degree meter scale on the dial, from 0 to 180 and alongside the chronograph function, the user is able to measure turns while flying. Standard turn rates were 3 degrees a second and this is very unique as most wrist watches did not feature these, even those that were made for aviation. While this may seem fairly complicated today, I’ve met army pilots before who have told me that without their watch, they wouldn't have been able to navigate accurately. With a hefty size of 38mm, this sits well on the wrist and despite the amount of information on the dial, remains relatively legible. With all of these functions in a single wristwatch, it is no wonder why they were popular amongst the American aviators.
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.
Related records
Wristwatches · 1940s
Jardur Bezelmeter, 1940s
S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Wristwatches · 1950s
Jardur Water Resistant Chronograph, 1950s
S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Mercury, 1900–1999
Modemuseum Hasselt
Wristwatches · 1900–1999
Wristwatch by Nutrix, 1900–1999
Modemuseum Hasselt
Wristwatches · 1920
Wristwatch, 1920
Modemuseum Hasselt
Wristwatches · 1931
Rolex 'Oyster Perpetual' rotor self-winding wrist-watch, lever escapement, in steel case with glass in back, Montres Rolex SA, Geneva, Switzerland, 1931
Science Museum Group, London
Wristwatches · c. 1936
Watch with diamond-set platinum case and gold link bracelet, Cartier, Paris, c. 1936.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Wristwatches · early to mid 20th century
Woman's wristwatch worn by Harriette Vyda Simms Moore, early to mid 20th century
National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC