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Lemania Monopusher Chronograph Issued to British Armed Forces, 1960s — view 1 of 6
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Lemania Monopusher Chronograph Issued to British Armed Forces, 1960s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Lemania (maker)
Date
1960s
Country of origin
England
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 38 mm
Stock no.
W-2551
Credit line
Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-2551)
Catalogue title (original)
Lemania Monopusher Chronograph Issued to British Armed Forces (English)

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

Record summary

Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-2551), this is a wristwatch by Lemania, made in England, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) 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 — Bulang & Sons

This is a lovely condition Lemania manual wind watch made for the British Armed Forces. The steel case has a screw case back with military markings “HS 9 and service number 34xx”. the dial features a broad arrow symbol – classic military watch features! The 38mm steel case is in good condition. The watch houses an excellent condition silver dial with Arabic numerals. The 12 and 6are in zinc sulphide lume with dots at the other hours. The watch is fitted with syringe hands and has a later replaced at a service stopwatch hand. This cool Lemania will come on the pictured Bulang and Sons nato strap and the movement has been fully serviced by our watchmaker. We love military watches and love discussing them with you guys. Please get in touch to discuss this one some more! Specifications: - Lemania Monopusher - 38mm steel fixed lugs case - Dates to 1960s - Case back with military engraving - Black broad arrow dial with luminous Arabic hours - Syringe hands - Lemania calibre 15CHT movement - Comes on the pictured Nato strap - Fully serviced by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade leather watch pouch This watch has been certified at Certifiwatch under registration number CF-0104461

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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