
Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Wittnauer Chronograph Silver Dial Valjoux 21 Movement in 18k Pink Gold, 1930s
- Maker / attribution
- Wittnauer (maker)
- Date
- 1930s
- Historical period
- Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Dimensions
- Case 35 mm
- Stock no.
- w-2953
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (w-2953)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Wittnauer Chronograph Silver Dial Valjoux 21 Movement in 18k Pink Gold (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number w-2953), this is a wristwatch by Wittnauer, dated 1930s. 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 35 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
At hand, we have a lovely 1940s chronograph from Wittnauer, a brand with an interesting history. The story of Wittnauer begins in New York in 1880, when Albert Wittnauer produced the brand's very first watches. Formally established as the Wittnauer Company in 1885, Albert’s vision was to create a brand offering the quality and reliability of Swiss craftsmanship while being more affordable for the American public. Wittnauer soon became known for providing quality, affordable watches and instruments to the scientific and industrial community, collaborating with the U.S. Navy during early aviation and navigation tests. By 1885, Wittnauer had grown to become the exclusive agent for Longines products in America. Albert’s brothers, Louis and Emile, joined the company, and together, they ran it as a family business until the last of them passed away in 1915. After the Great Depression, Wittnauer was acquired by the Hella Deltah Company, which rebranded it as Longines-Wittnauer. In the 1950s, the Longines Watch Company bought Wittnauer, producing watches under both brand names. In the 1990s, the Swatch Group decided to separate the brands again, and Wittnauer was sold to Bulova, where it continues to operate today. This fine chronograph features an 18k pink (or “rose”) gold case, sized at 35mm, with square pushers. The champagne-colored dial boasts a charming baby blue base 1000 outer scale, complemented by a black printed minute track and painted black Arabic numerals. Powered by a hand-wound Valjoux 21 movement (signed Wittnauer), it comes on the pictured Bulang & Sons strap and has been fully serviced by our watchmaker. Get in touch today to make this remarkable Wittnauer chronograph yours! Specifications: - Wittnauer 18k pink gold chronograph - Dating to the 1930s - 35mm case with snap-back and square pushers - Serial: 34XXX - Silver/champagne dial with base 1000 scale in blue - No lume and blued hands - Valjoux 21 hand-wound movement, Wittnauer signed - Comes on the pictured Bulang & Sons strap - Fully serviced by our watchmaker
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
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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