Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Minerva Gilt Chronograph, 1940s
- Maker / attribution
- Minerva (maker)
- Date
- 1940s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 35.5 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 11103692876
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, S.Song Watches (product 11103692876)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Minerva Gilt Chronograph (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 11103692876), this is a wristwatch by Minerva, made in Switzerland, dated 1940s. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 35.5 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 — S.Song Watches
One of the must-haves for collectors in the past 12 months has been the glossy gilt chronograph and this Minerva is exactly that. It's easy to see why collectors have been going crazy for this style of watch as the black glossy dial and shiny gilt printing is just a joy to look at. Housed in a 35.5mm stainless steel case, this Minerva features thick syringe hands filled with lume that has aged to a very pleasing orange patina and similarly aged dot markers. 1965The dial reflects any light source, especially in the subdials where you get constant lines of light showing off its glossy face. Interestingly, towards the middle of the dial and surrounding the dot hour markers, the dial has speckled and gone golden tropical. Only visible in certain lights, this adds more depth to the already beautiful dial. Flip the watch over, this Minerva houses an extremely rare Valjoux 71 movement. It is estimated that only a few thousand of these movements were made, making it much more sought after than its famous Valjoux 72 brother.
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
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.
Read next:Flyback chronographChronograph
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