Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Wittnauer Chronograph, 1960s
- Maker / attribution
- Wittnauer (maker)
- Date
- 1960s
- Historical period
- Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 38 mm
- Stock no.
- Product 8414020929
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (product 8414020929)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Wittnauer Chronograph (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number Product 8414020929), this is a wristwatch by Wittnauer, dated 1960s. 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 — Analog/Shift
Wittnauer is a brand that's been picking up traction on the vintage market in the past few years, and for good reason. Their Professional line has become increasingly desirable as more and more collectors realize their worth. They combine sturdy steel cases with distinctive dials and a history that's just as reputable as other horological heavy-hitters like Breitling and Universal Genève . From the brand's inception in the 1880s, Wittnauer gained a reputation for their excellent complicated watches. Aviators like Amelia Earhart piloted their planes with instruments made by Wittnauer. Daredevil aviator Jimmy Mattern wore a Wittnauer AllProof in his attempted flight around the world in 1933. This watch, the Reference 8023-241T, dating from the 1960s, features a dial in a black-and-white "reverse panda" color-way, with accents of blue and red in the outer tachymeter and telemeter scales and red . At 38mm the size is particularly desirable for today's collectors. The watch is also powered by a dependable movement, the 14Y, a modified Landeron 249 produced especially for Wittnauer. We've been touting Wittnauer chronographs for years, and this one perfectly encapsulates the reason why. Coming complete with both inner and outer boxes, papers, and a coveted JB Champion bracelet with a Wittnauer clasp, this is a veritable time capsule. Lovingly preserved, it withstood the test of time with grace and stye, and will do so for many more years to come.
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
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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