St. Gallen automatic 'disinfectable' wrist-watch — view 1 of 3 — View 1 of 3 · Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 3 · Image: © The Trustees of the British Museum · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wrist-watch

St. Gallen automatic 'disinfectable' wrist-watch

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.

Maker / attribution: St Gallen Horology Company Limited (Made by)
Date: 2007
Historical period: Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)
Country of origin: Switzerland
Place: Switzerland, Hong Kong
Object type: Wrist-watch
Materials / technique: steel, rubber
Dimensions: Diameter: 42.10 millimetres (watch) Length: 260.50 millimetres (overall length) Thickness: 11.50 millimetres (watch)
Holding institution: British Museum
Accession / object no.: 2007,8044.1
Credit line: British Museum, London
Catalogue title (original): St. Gallen automatic 'disinfectable' wrist-watch (English)

View the source record ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Held and catalogued by British Museum (object number 2007,8044.1), this is a wrist-watch by St Gallen Horology Company Limited, made in Switzerland, Hong Kong, dated 2007. The Atlas places it in the Mechanical Renaissance period (1990 – 2010) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: steel, rubber. Recorded dimensions: Diameter: 42.10 millimetres (watch) Length: 260.50 millimetres (overall length) Thickness: 11.50 millimetres (watch). The record is illustrated with 3 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

Description — British Museum

St. Gallen automatic 'disinfectable' wrist-watch. Automatic wrist-watch with Swiss club-tooth lever escapement. Black square-pattern dial with dots at the hours and arrow-heads at 12 and 6 o'clock. An inner circle for 24 hours numbered 13,14,16,17,19,20,22,23. The seconds circle coloured dark green between 9 and 15 seconds and light green between 45 and 55 seconds. White-painted baton hour and minute-hands. Cross-pattern centre seconds hand with arrow-head pointers, three green-painted and one red. Around the bezel calibrations 50-180 for pulsation and 11-60 for respiration. Grey-coloured silicone rubber wrist-strap.

Curator's comments — British Museum

A small booklet relating to the production of this watch is in the BM horological library. An early version of the 'Disinfectable' made in the early stages of development of the watch, presented by Stuart McDouall, a close friend of Ashley Lung, consultant to St. Gallen.

Inscriptions & marks

inscription; around the case band; Disinfectable; inscription; dial; St Gallen; Rescue Automatic

Provenance

Donated by:, Stuart McDouall

Historical context

Mechanical Renaissance (1990 – 2010)

Mechanical watches return as cultural objects; independent watchmaking flourishes.

Mechanical watches returned as cultural and luxury objects. Complications, tourbillons and new materials proliferated; independent watchmakers such as George Daniels, F.P. Journe and Philippe Dufour revived artisanal watchmaking; collecting vintage watches became a major field.

Read the period in the timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: Quartz Revolution

Atlas type guide

Automatic (self-winding) watches

Self-winding watches use the wearer's motion to wind the mainspring. Abraham-Louis Perrelet and Breguet made 'perpétuelle' pocket watches with oscillating weights in the late eighteenth century, but the principle only became practical in the wristwatch. John Harwood patented a bumper automatic in 1923; Rolex's Perpetual rotor (1931) winding in one direction, and later bidirectional rotors (Eterna, Felsa Bidynator), established the modern form. Micro-rotors (Universal Genève, Buren) and peripheral rotors made automatic watches thinner.

What to look for

A semicircular rotor turning 360° over the movement, or a 'bumper' weight that rebounds between springs.
'Automatic', 'Perpetual' or 'Self-winding' on the dial.
A sealed screw-back case, since automatic watches are wound less often by the crown.

Dating clues

Bumper automatics: 1923–c. 1955.
Full rotors: from 1931 (Rolex); widespread after c. 1950.
Micro-rotors: from 1954–1958.

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

Detached lever escapement — Escapement
Self-winding (automatic) mechanism — Component

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryRecorded
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksRecorded
ProvenanceRecorded
Several photographsRecorded

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

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: British Museum (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (© The Trustees of the British Museum) — permission review (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

"St. Gallen automatic 'disinfectable' wrist-watch." British Museum, 2007,8044.1. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/st-gallen-automatic-disinfectable-wrist-watch-7ed99f.