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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Longines Sei Tacche, 1940s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Longines (maker)
Date
1940s
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
Product 1373198123095
Credit line
Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 1373198123095)
Catalogue title (original)
Longines Sei Tacche (English)

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

Record summary

Catalogued by S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (stock number Product 1373198123095), this is a wristwatch by Longines, made in Switzerland, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. 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 — S.Song Watches

Longines dress watches from the 30’s and 40’s occupies a niche section in vintage collecting and has a devoted following. The Sei Tacche is nicknamed so because of the six notches in the waterproof caseback. While the Tre Tacche (Three notches) Longines fetch a huge premium in the market, the Sei Tacches remain relatively affordable. This example would have to be one of the more unique ones out there. Maintaining its original dial, it has aged and developed the most beautiful and insane patina. With tones of rust and metallic, in the sunlight, it reflects and changes its tone according to the light source. Some cracking of the lacquer has occurred around the top of the sub seconds and it looks really stunning. Powered by the in-house calibre 12.68z, this is a solid watch with a solid movement. You will not find another with such a dial out there!

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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