Meylan Decimal Chronograph Cal. 321, 1960s — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: S.Song Watches · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 6 · Image: S.Song Watches · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Meylan Decimal Chronograph Cal. 321, 1960s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Meylan (maker)
Date: 1960s
Historical period: Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Wristwatch
Dealer: S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle
Stock no.: Product 36192059417
Credit line: Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 36192059417)
Catalogue title (original): Meylan Decimal Chronograph Cal. 321 (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 36192059417), this is a wristwatch by Meylan, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) 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

The Meylan Decimal Chronograph is a real oddity. The brand itself was a US based company that imported Swiss timepieces for the local market but interestingly, they also made a few pieces from Swiss parts in their day. This chronograph you see is one of them, and it is one of the most balanced, beautiful chronographs of the era. For some reason, Meylan mostly made chronographs with decimal tracks and of late, chronographs featuring this have been very hot in the market. I do think it’s because decimal tracks are just downright good looking, especially this example where i1969t is accentuated in red. All the details of this stunning chronograph makes this watch so appealing, which includes unique paddle hour and minute hands, long bevelled lugs, a radial hour counter subdial and last but not least, a beastly movement beating inside. Open the watch up and you are greeted with a Lemania Cal. 2520, most famously known as the Omega Cal. 321. What you get is a beautiful chronograph with a legendary movement inside.

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 timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: 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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Chronograph — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsNot in source
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © S.Song Watches — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Meylan Decimal Chronograph Cal. 321, 1960s." S.Song Watches (dealer), Seattle, Product 36192059417. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/meylan-decimal-chronograph-cal-321-1960s-c3ef16.