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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Longines (Ref. 22772), 1944

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Longines (maker)
Date
1944
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Dimensions
Case 32 mm
Stock no.
LNGS22772
Credit line
Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (LNGS22772)
Catalogue title (original)
1944 Longines (Ref. 22772) (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number LNGS22772), this is a wristwatch by Longines, made in Switzerland, dated 1944. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 32 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 — Craft & Tailored

The reference 22772 is powered by Longines caliber 10.68Z manual wind movement. A beautifully designed and handsome vintage dress model with a robust design that features a sub-seconds hand. SPECS Stock # LNGS22772 Brand Longines Style Dress Model 22772 Serial 153 Size Men's/ Unisex Material SS Dial Black/ Copper Millimeters 32mm Bracelet 2pc Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The case shows honest signs of use and retains full and symmetrical lugs. The crown is believed to be the original to the watch. The case back features an engraving "G. Forsell Nybro" and the factory markings remain deep and crisp. The watch comes supplied on a 16mm 2pc leather strap. DIAL & HANDS The vibrant dial features a charming aesthetic and appropriate signs of age. The copper-colored inner dial and sub-seconds dial contrasts the black outer portion of the dial beautifully. The radium lumed Arabic numerals have aged to a dark coloration and exhibit minimal degradation when inspected under U.V. light. The original radium hands have aged to a lighter patina than the dial and display no degradation under U.V. light inspection. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is keeping time, previous service history is unknown.

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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