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Longines ‘Bauhaus’ Oversize Salmon Dial Calatrava 1940s, late 1930s — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Longines ‘Bauhaus’ Oversize Salmon Dial Calatrava 1940s, late 1930s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Longines (maker)
Date
late 1930s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 37.5 mm
Stock no.
W-745
Credit line
Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-745)
Catalogue title (original)
Longines ‘Bauhaus’ Oversize Salmon Dial Calatrava 1940s (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-745), this is a wristwatch by Longines, made in Switzerland, dated late 1930s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 37.5 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

Confirmed - this Salmon swam up the river in 1943… We are delighted to offer yet another stunning oversize steel dress watch. The caseback stamps would indicate that this watch was made in 1939 and the watch is accompanied by an extract from the Longines archive confirming it was delivered to Czechoslovakia in 1943. The 37.5mm stainless steel is in outstanding condition. The salmon dial is flawless – we really love this dial! – and features Bauhaus-esque arabic numerals. The watch is fitted with blued steel hands, with a particularly interesting ‘big circle’ hour hand. Specifications - Longines Calatrava ref 22097 - Dates to late 1930s - Large 37.5mm stainless steel case - Beautiful salmon dial - Manual wind movement serial 635xxxx - Longines archive extract - Includes a Bulang and Sons strap - Includes a handmade single leather watch pouch

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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