
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Longines Sei Tacche with a Rare 24 Hour Dial, Matching Case and Lug Numbers, circa 1945
- Maker / attribution
- Longines (maker)
- Date
- c. 1945
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 32 mm
- Stock no.
- vws2696
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws2696)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Longines Sei Tacche with a Rare 24 Hour Dial - c.1945 - Matching Case and Lug Numbers (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws2696), this is a wristwatch by Longines, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1945. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) 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 — Vintage Watch Specialist
A Very Rare Longines Sei Tacche with a 24-Hour Dial Boasting Attractive Patina, Blued Steel Hands and Original Lume - c.1945 What’s On Offer This is a charming military-style watch from Longines with a Sei Tacche screw-back case - t hese case backs were milled with three or six notches designed to aid in tightening the threaded case backs to the case to provide adequate protection from moisture and dust - making them fairly robust! The military-style 24-hour dial is in superb vintage condition with a nice even speckling of attractive patina and blued steel hands with original lume. The watch is relatively small by today's standards at 32mm however, it wears well on the wrist and its meaty case gives the feel of a more substantial size. The styling is comparable to that of the military-issued watches of the time and while some of these time-only watches were produced under contract for various militaries, many more were produced for the consumer market. The watch has been very preserved and boasts matching case and lug numbers as well as the 24-hour dial - both of which make it quite a rare find! We applied for an Extract of the Archive from Longines which provides documentation of our findings about this watch and will be supplied with the watch upon purchase.
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
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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