Longines-Wittnauer
Longines-Wittnauer
(*) A pilot's rare, oversized and historically interesting vintage wristwatch with centre seconds and Weems second setting system - according to the Longines extract from the archives the watch was invoiced on January 19, 1945 to Longines-Wittnauer Company, which was at that time the Longines agent for the USA. The watch was presented to the later Vietnam veteran Major Maurice D. Bach by the Institute of Navigation as an honour for his membership in 1952 Movm. No. 6499902, Ref. 4356, Cal. 37.9, Case No. 22326, Dimensions 47 mm, circa 1942, Origin Schweiz, Extract from the archives Case: Steel, hinged push back with engraving: "Institute of Navigation, Maurice D. Bach, Membership Award 1952". Dial: Enamel chapter ring, silvered rotating centre dial. Movm.: Manual. This example has a few signs of wear due to its age, but is in very beautiful, original vintage condition. The stainless steel case measures 47 mm and features a hinged case-back, a hinged dust cover, and 2 crowns - one for winding and setting time at the 3 o’clock position and the other for setting the hour angle at the 4 o’clock position. The white enamel chapter ring features black Arabic numerals, a centre seconds hand, blued steel Breguet hands and a silvered inner rotating seconds dial. The watch is accompanied by a Longines Extract from the Archives. This Weems Hour Angle aviator’s watch was gifted to Major Maurice D. Bach in Jahr 1952 by the Institute of Navigation in honour of his membership at the institution. Wing Commander Bach was awarded the "Distinguished Flying Cross" by the President of the United States for exceptional service on a mission as navigator of a C-47 in the province of Tay Ninh, III Corps, Vietnam on August 18, 1968. The President honoured Commander Bach for his expertise as a member of the United States Air Force, his flying skills and his dedication to duty. Maurice D. Bach was born on December 18, 1923 in Edinburgh, Scotland and died at the age of 95 on October 14, 2019. During the early years of aviation between 1920 and 1930 the majority of pilots wore watches by Longines - at the time Longines was far ahead of other companies when it came to technical innovation. Exact timekeeping was crucial for the progress in aviation and in the late 1920 an era of revolutionary developments in the navigation sector was set in motion. A pioneer in this field was US Navy Captain Philip Van Horn Weems, who was a teacher of the famous Charles A. Lindbergh. He invented a second-setting mechanism which allowed the pilots to set their watches to the closest second - Weems created a mobile dial for synchronising the second with the radio time signal. Longines patented this brilliant system in 1935. Case: very good, slightly worn. Dial: very good, slightly oxydized. Movm.: very good, capable of running, cleaning recommended.
Bid on this lot
Longines-Wittnauer
(*) A pilot's rare, oversized and historically interesting vintage wristwatch with centre seconds and Weems second setting system - according to the Longines extract from the archives the watch was invoiced on January 19, 1945 to Longines-Wittnauer Company, which was at that time the Longines agent for the USA. The watch was presented to the later Vietnam veteran Major Maurice D. Bach by the Institute of Navigation as an honour for his membership in 1952 Movm. No. 6499902, Ref. 4356, Cal. 37.9, Case No. 22326, Dimensions 47 mm, circa 1942, Origin Schweiz, Extract from the archives Case: Steel, hinged push back with engraving: "Institute of Navigation, Maurice D. Bach, Membership Award 1952". Dial: Enamel chapter ring, silvered rotating centre dial. Movm.: Manual. This example has a few signs of wear due to its age, but is in very beautiful, original vintage condition. The stainless steel case measures 47 mm and features a hinged case-back, a hinged dust cover, and 2 crowns - one for winding and setting time at the 3 o’clock position and the other for setting the hour angle at the 4 o’clock position. The white enamel chapter ring features black Arabic numerals, a centre seconds hand, blued steel Breguet hands and a silvered inner rotating seconds dial. The watch is accompanied by a Longines Extract from the Archives. This Weems Hour Angle aviator’s watch was gifted to Major Maurice D. Bach in Jahr 1952 by the Institute of Navigation in honour of his membership at the institution. Wing Commander Bach was awarded the "Distinguished Flying Cross" by the President of the United States for exceptional service on a mission as navigator of a C-47 in the province of Tay Ninh, III Corps, Vietnam on August 18, 1968. The President honoured Commander Bach for his expertise as a member of the United States Air Force, his flying skills and his dedication to duty. Maurice D. Bach was born on December 18, 1923 in Edinburgh, Scotland and died at the age of 95 on October 14, 2019. During the early years of aviation between 1920 and 1930 the majority of pilots wore watches by Longines - at the time Longines was far ahead of other companies when it came to technical innovation. Exact timekeeping was crucial for the progress in aviation and in the late 1920 an era of revolutionary developments in the navigation sector was set in motion. A pioneer in this field was US Navy Captain Philip Van Horn Weems, who was a teacher of the famous Charles A. Lindbergh. He invented a second-setting mechanism which allowed the pilots to set their watches to the closest second - Weems created a mobile dial for synchronising the second with the radio time signal. Longines patented this brilliant system in 1935. Case: very good, slightly worn. Dial: very good, slightly oxydized. Movm.: very good, capable of running, cleaning recommended.
