Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Lemania H.S.9 Monopusher Chronograph, 'Brushed' Silver Dial British Military Issued
- Maker / attribution
- Lemania (maker)
- Date
- c. 1960
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- silver
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- OC3249
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Oliver & Clarke (OC3249)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Lemania H.S.9 Monopusher Chronograph - 'Brushed' Silver Dial British Military Issued (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Oliver & Clarke (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number OC3249), this is a wristwatch by Lemania, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1960. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: silver. 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 — Oliver & Clarke
Lemania's story starts in the Vallée de Joux in 1884, when former Jaeger-LeCoultre craftsman Alfred Lugrin, gifted with complicated movements, founded the company under his own name. His chronograph work earned it a quiet but serious reputation, and around 1930 his son-in-law Marius Meylan took over and renamed it Lemania. To weather the Great Depression it joined Omega and Tissot in 1932, and that partnership defined its legacy: for four decades, every Omega chronograph movement, including the famous Calibre 321, was supplied by Lemania or closely based on its designs. The Quartz Crisis nearly ended it all. By 1981 Lemania had left the group and become Nouvelle Lemania, Breguet acquired it a decade later, and after the Swatch Group took over Breguet in 1999 the Lemania name was retired, though its workshops now produce movements for Breguet. This British Military-issued monopusher chronograph dates to circa 1960 and is in excellent condition given its service life. The well-proportioned 38mm case has a crown at 3 o'clock, a single 'pump' pusher at 2 o'clock and a screw-down caseback with the appropriate military markings. The silver dial is beautifully preserved, free of major wear, with crisp text, patinated markers and the sought-after 'broad arrow' on the lower half. The correct 'syringe' hands have been replaced, most likely during contract servicing, as is common with military watches. A real piece of history, and excellent value compared with military pieces from other brands. They don't come along often!
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
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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