
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Minerva Dress Watch (Ref. FD862) "Cal. 4007", 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Minerva (maker)
- Date
- 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- MNVAFD862
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (MNVAFD862)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1960s Minerva Dress Watch (Ref. FD862) "Cal. 4007" (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number MNVAFD862), this is a wristwatch by Minerva, made in Switzerland, 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 — Craft & Tailored
In 1858, Charles Robert and his brother Hyppolyte founded a movement-making company appropriately called H. & C. Robert in the Swiss town of Villaret. 28 years later, they changed the brand name to Minerva, after the goddess of farming, craftsmanship, and science. Then, a couple of decades later, Minerva released their first chronograph movement, the cal. 19-9. Over the years, they would release a catalog of watches consisting of all kinds of shapes and use cases, but always with a whole lot of taste and design awareness. This ref. FD862 is an excellent example of their focus on making timeless, beautiful watches with its twisted lugs, engine-turned bezel and deceptively simple dial. It's a nice mix between dress watch and tool watch, and looks just as relevant today as it would've in the '60s. SPECS Stock # MNVAFD862 Brand Minerva Style Dress Watch Model FD 862 Serial N/A Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Silver Millimeters 35 Strap 2pc Handmade Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The impressive and well-preserved case retains strong, sharp finishing throughout, showing only light signs of honest use and no notable evidence of major polishing in the past. The case retains its original unsigned crown. The case back features its original factory markings in easily legible condition. The watch comes supplied on a two-piece handmade leather strap. DIAL & HANDS The original silver dial exhibits a subtle warmth that enhances the exquisite vintage aesthetic with a pie-pan-esque design, and shows no major age or damage present. The original dauphine-style hands are in exceptional condition and show no significant signs of wear or age. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is keeping time and functioning perfectly, previous service history is unknown.
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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