
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Record Oversize 1950s Large Case 38mm
- Maker / attribution
- Record (maker)
- Date
- 1950s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- W-517
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-517)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Record Oversize 1950s Large Case 38mm (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-517), this is a wristwatch by Record, dated 1950s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 38 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 — Bulang & Sons
THE RECORD OVERSIZE CALATRAVA STYLE DRESS WATCH This is a very beautiful and all original Record dress watch dating to the 1950s. The case is unusually large for the era, measuring 38mm and it remains in fantastic condition. The dial remains in flawless condition having taken on a gentle cream hue. The none luminous dial features steel applied arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6 and 9 with arrows on the remaining plots. The rare and very cool minute and hour hands are ‘reverse arrows’ and are in unmarked condition. The watch has been fully serviced by our watchmaker. Specifications - Record Calatrava style dress watch - Serial 11194xx - Large 38mm stainless steel case - Beautiful original dial - Rare ‘reverse arrow’ hands - Small sub-seconds dial - Fully serviced by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade single leather watch pouch
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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