Wittnauer Professional Chronograph, 1960s — view 1 of 6 — View 1 of 6 · Image: Analog/Shift · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 6 · Image: Analog/Shift · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Wittnauer Professional Chronograph, 1960s

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Wittnauer (maker)
Date: 1960s
Historical period: Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Wristwatch
Dealer: Analog/Shift (dealer), New York
Stock no.: 40992768
Credit line: Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40992768)
Catalogue title (original): Wittnauer Professional Chronograph (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40992768), this is a wristwatch by Wittnauer, dated 1960s. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) 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 — Analog/Shift

The story of the A. Wittnauer Company--and the man who founded it--is so inspirational that it could, nay should, be a film by Ron Howard. Around that time, Wittnauer became the distributor for Longines watches in the United States, and would begin producing Wittnauer-branded cases that housed Longines movements. Through the collaboration with Longines, Wittnauer gained a reputation for their excellent aviation instruments and chronographs. Amelia Earhart piloted her planes with instruments made by Wittnauer, and daredevil aviator Jimmy Mattern wore a Wittnauer AllProof in his aborted flight around the world in 1933. Dating from the 1960s, this Reference 7004A Chronograph was marketed by Longines-Wittnauer as a professional-grade timepiece and fitted with the redoubtable Landeron 248 manual winding movement. The matte black dial features twin subsidiary registers (sweep seconds at 9 o'clock, and a 30 minute-counter at 3 o'clock with the 5 minutes countdown in red). The rotating outer bezel has aged over the years to a lovely mulberry hue.

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 timeline More wristwatches from this period Earlier: 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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Chronograph — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionRecorded
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsNot in source
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

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

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Analog/Shift — dealer photographs; permission required (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

"Wittnauer Professional Chronograph, 1960s." Analog/Shift (dealer), New York, 40992768. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/wittnauer-professional-chronograph-3e79e9.