Wristwatch by Spaceman, Switzerland, 1970 — view 1 of 1
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Wristwatch by Spaceman, Switzerland, 1970

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Spaceman (creator); André le Marquand (creator); Schild, A., AG (creator)
Date
1970
Country of origin
Switzerland
Place
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Holding institution
German Clock Museum
Accession / object no.
Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_57961__technical_number_
Catalogue title (original)
Armbanduhr, „Spaceman Automatic“, Schweiz, um 1970 (German)

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by German Clock Museum (object number Museu_ProvidedCHO_museum_digital_57961__technical_number_), this is a wristwatch by Spaceman, made in Switzerland, dated 1970. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

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

Catalogue description from German Clock Museum (German)

Armbanduhr, „Spaceman Automatic“, Gehäuse aus Fiberglas. Design André Le Marquand. Schweiz, um 1970 (Deutsches Uhrenmuseum Furtwangen)

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

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

Automatic (self-winding) watches

Self-winding watches use the wearer's motion to wind the mainspring. Abraham-Louis Perrelet and Breguet made 'perpétuelle' pocket watches with oscillating weights in the late eighteenth century, but the principle only became practical in the wristwatch. John Harwood patented a bumper automatic in 1923; Rolex's Perpetual rotor (1931) winding in one direction, and later bidirectional rotors (Eterna, Felsa Bidynator), established the modern form. Micro-rotors (Universal Genève, Buren) and peripheral rotors made automatic watches thinner.

What to look for

  • A semicircular rotor turning 360° over the movement, or a 'bumper' weight that rebounds between springs.
  • 'Automatic', 'Perpetual' or 'Self-winding' on the dial.
  • A sealed screw-back case, since automatic watches are wound less often by the crown.

Dating clues

  • Bumper automatics: 1923–c. 1955.
  • Full rotors: from 1931 (Rolex); widespread after c. 1950.
  • Micro-rotors: from 1954–1958.

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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