Skip to content
Technos Yachting Sportsgraph (Ref. 248), 1970s — view 1 of 6
View 1 of 6 · Image: Craft & Tailored · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Technos Yachting Sportsgraph (Ref. 248), 1970s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Technos (maker)
Date
1970s
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
TCHYTSG248
Credit line
Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (TCHYTSG248)
Catalogue title (original)
1970s Technos Yachting Sportsgraph (Ref. 248) (English)

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

Record summary

Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number TCHYTSG248), this is a wristwatch by Technos, dated 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) 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

For 80 years before being totally consumed by the Japanese market and almost lost altogether to the infamous Quartz Crisis, Technos was a manufacturer run by a family of watchmakers, with a history that went all the way back to the year 1900. In 1970 the company was sold to General Watch Co. and thankfully the train just kept on going, because we got a stunning stock of funky dive and racing-style watches which we are still admiring 50 years later. Stock # TCHYTSG248 Brand Technos Style Sportsgraph Model 248 Serial H4XXXXXX Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Silver Millimeters 38 Bracelet 2pc Handmade Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The stainless steel case measures 38-millimeters and features a distinctive C-shaped design. Instead of the graceful curves usually employed on a case shape like this, Technos opted to cut the lugs in more drastically while also dropping them down deep under the case top. When combined with its still razor-sharp edges the design elicits something almost shark-like, streamlined with surprising movement. The watch is accompanied by a beautiful red-brown 2pc leather strap. DIAL & HANDS Featuring the famous regatta timer, this Sportsgraph shows a busy but impeccably designed dial. The silver base acts as the perfect backdrop to the bold red and blue of the regatta timer. The inner portion houses the timer, 60 seconds counter, and tritium-capped steel hour markers, while the outer dial features a light tachymeter scale. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is functioning and keeping time, previous service history is unknown.

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

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.

Read next:Detached lever escapementIdentification Centre

Related records