
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Waltham Gold-Plated Cushion Dress Watch "Chevrolet Soap Box Derby City Champion", 1939
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1939
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- United States
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Dimensions
- Case 27 mm
- Stock no.
- WTHCHEVSBC
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (WTHCHEVSBC)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 1939 Waltham Gold-Plated Cushion Dress Watch "Chevrolet Soap Box Derby City Champion" (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 WTHCHEVSBC), this is a wristwatch, made in United States, dated 1939. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Wristwatches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 27 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 — Craft & Tailored
Waltham was once one of the most important and prolific watchmakers in the United States and was perhaps best known for their elegantly adored and high-quality pocket watches of the late 1800s and early 1900s. As with all timepiece manufacturers at the turn of the century, Waltham naturally switched manufacturing as watches migrated to the wrist, and over time produced a variety of sport and dress models. This incredible gold-plated piece from the late 1930s is such a cool time capsule, originally presented to the city champion of the All-American Soapbox Derby of 1939 by Chevrolet. A throwback to some of the old American traditions and pastimes, and a piece that would make for a very unique addition to any collection. SPECS Stock # WTHCHEVSBC Brand Waltham Style Dress Watch Model N/A Serial 499XXXX Size Men's / Unisex Material Gold-Plated Brass Dial White "Soap Box Derby City Champion" Millimeters 27 Strap 2pc Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The 27mm gold-plated cushion case appears to have been lightly polished in the past and has small marks and scratches that are highly consistent with its 85-year-old age. The watch appears to retain its original unsigned crown. The case back features an engraving that reads "Chevrolet Motor Div. award All-American Soap Box Derby City Champion 1939 - won by Robert E. Schaldone." The watch comes supplied on a two-piece leather strap with gold tang buckle. DIAL & HANDS The unconventional dial is in good quality with age and wear commensurate with its era of production. It's also devoted almost entirely to the derby, with the shield taking front and center placement, and the Chevrolet logo in the subseconds register. The gilt hour markers are in good condition considering the watch's age, matching the leaf-style handset. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is functioning perfectly and keeping time, previous service history is unknown. A movement service can be provided upon request.
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
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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