Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Lemania Automatic Military Style Watch, Stainless Steel, circa 1950s
- Maker / attribution
- Lemania (maker)
- Date
- c. 1950s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- stainless steel
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- vws3942cs
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws3942cs)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Lemania Automatic Military Style Watch - Stainless Steel - Original Condition - c.1950s (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws3942cs), this is a wristwatch by Lemania, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: stainless steel. Recorded dimensions: Case 35 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 Striking and Well Preserved Lemania Automatic Time Only Watch in Stainless Steel with a Striking Dial Design, c.1950s Founded in 1884 by Alfred Lugrin in Switzerland’s Vallée de Joux, Lemania built its reputation as a master of chronograph and complicated watch movements. Renowned for precision and reliability, the brand supplied calibres to Omega, Tissot, and even Patek Philippe. Lemania played a pivotal role in developing the Omega Speedmaster’s legendary movement used on the Moon. Though later absorbed into Breguet, vintage Lemania watches remain highly sought after for their craftsmanship, heritage, and technical excellence. What's on Offer This striking Lemania sub-seconds time-only watch is particularly charming and full of character. Quite military in style, the ecru-toned dial remains in fine order, featuring bold Arabic numerals and lume-filled syringe hands, complemented by luminous hour dots for enhanced legibility. A recessed sub-seconds register at 6 o’clock balances the dial, while the Lemania signature adds a touch of vintage authenticity. Protected by a shatterproof Plexiglass crystal, the watch is housed in a robust 35mm stainless steel case, which wears comfortably while offering a practical everyday presence. Powered by the automatic Calibre 3600 mechanical movement, this piece captures Lemania’s reputation for durability and precision in an understated yet purposeful design.
Historical context
Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.
The classic era of the mechanical wristwatch: dive watches, chronographs for motor racing and space flight, GMT watches for jet travel, slim dress watches, automatic calendars, and the rise of Japanese manufacturers alongside Swiss, American, German and Soviet industries.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
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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