Movement- LeCoultre, manual wind by Vacheron Constatin which clearly marked VXN on the movement
Caliber- 417/30W
Case- Solid 14K Gold, 34.5mm (not including crown), 18mm between lugs, Dial- Champagne, signed LeCoultre (with logo), seconds subdial
Crown- Silid 14K Gold
Serial Number- 1107469
PRICE - RM4.2K NEGOTIABLE
HISTORY OF VACHERON CONSTATIN (VC) AND JAEGER-LECOULTRE (JLC)
1938 after years of close cooperation, LeCoultre takes a partial ownership position, and a Jaeger-LeCoultre marketing alliance is formed.
Jaeger's Swiss sales organization were moved into the VC business address in Geneva
1940 George Ketterer, through SAPIC, takes a majority shares position in VC. Ketterer was Managing Director at SAPIC, which was the holding company for Le Coultre, Jaeger-Le Coultre, and a majority shareholder of VC; he was also a Manager in VC. There was a Ketterer in charge at VC - either George or his son Jacques - until 1987.
1940-1950's VC's operational role became etablisseur to LeCoultre's manufacture
1944 The caliber 2003 is announced - 1.64mm thinnest manual wind in history - by AP, and VC participates in a similar announcement.
1946 AP ships the finished Ultra Thin based on the cal. 2003 (AP company literature, No. 1, 2000)
1950's US importer was VC-Le Coultre, which was itself a division of Longines Wittnauer Watch Co
1955 VC 200 year bicentennial -
VC releases Ultra Thin announced in 1944 as a 200 year anniversary piece. Vacheron claim several advanced features not claimed by AP for the cal. 2003, including unique escapement and regulator innovations, which allowed for the elimination of shock protection and the elimination of adjustment normally required after cleaning and lubrication.
VC presented to Bulganin (Soviet Union), Eden (Great Britain), Eisenhower (USA), Faure (France)
1965 George Ketterer left Jaeger LeCoultre and went to head VC, thus separating the LeCoultre ownership connection.
Movement- LeCoultre, manual wind by Vacheron Constatin which clearly marked VXN on the movement Caliber- K818/1CW Case- Solid 14K Gold, 32.5mm (not including crown), 17mm between lugs, (engraved presentation watch by a company on back) Dial- Champagne, signed LeCoultre (with logo), seconds subdial Crown- Silid 14K Gold Serial Number- 2000134
MY PERSONAL COLLECTION - WILL ONLY LET GO FOR RM5.5K
HISTORY OF VACHERON CONSTATIN (VC) AND JAEGER-LECOULTRE (JLC)
1938 after years of close cooperation, LeCoultre takes a partial ownership position, and a Jaeger-LeCoultre marketing alliance is formed. Jaeger's Swiss sales organization were moved into the VC business address in Geneva
1940 George Ketterer, through SAPIC, takes a majority shares position in VC. Ketterer was Managing Director at SAPIC, which was the holding company for Le Coultre, Jaeger-Le Coultre, and a majority shareholder of VC; he was also a Manager in VC. There was a Ketterer in charge at VC - either George or his son Jacques - until 1987.
1940-1950's VC's operational role became etablisseur to LeCoultre's manufacture
1944 The caliber 2003 is announced - 1.64mm thinnest manual wind in history - by AP, and VC participates in a similar announcement.
1946 AP ships the finished Ultra Thin based on the cal. 2003 (AP company literature, No. 1, 2000)
1950's US importer was VC-Le Coultre, which was itself a division of Longines Wittnauer Watch Co
1955 VC 200 year bicentennial - VC releases Ultra Thin announced in 1944 as a 200 year anniversary piece. Vacheron claim several advanced features not claimed by AP for the cal. 2003, including unique escapement and regulator innovations, which allowed for the elimination of shock protection and the elimination of adjustment normally required after cleaning and lubrication. VC presented to Bulganin (Soviet Union), Eden (Great Britain), Eisenhower (USA), Faure (France)
1965 George Ketterer left Jaeger LeCoultre and went to head VC, thus separating the LeCoultre ownership connection.
MOVEMENT/ENJIN: BENRUS 17 JEWELS AUTMATIC WINDING MOVEMENT
DIAL COLOR: CHAMPAGNE GOLD (TINY SCRATCHES BETWEEN 10 TO 11 AND BETWEEN 3 TO 5)
FUNCTION/FUNGSI:HOUR, MINTUES AND SWIPE SECOND
HANDS/JARUM: GOLD TONE
MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: BLACK ARABIC & GOLD STICKS
BEZEL: SOLID 14K GOLD
CASING : SOLID 14K GOLD CLEARLY HALLMARKED
LUGS: 18mm
MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 33mm DIAMETER W/O CROWN and 38mm LUG TO LUG
DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: BENRUS LOGO~14K GOLD~OPEN THROUGH CRYSTAL~ WATERPROOF~DUST PROOF- SERIES 7001 (Personal engraved to US Assay Officer Employee dated 7.26.68
CROWN: solid 14k signed 3 stars
STRAP/TALI:GENUINE BLACK LEATHER BAND FITS 8.5" WRIST
SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"
WORKING CONDITION, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & HARD TO FIND.
NOTICE: VINTAGE WATCHES AGED 30YRS IS NO LONGER GUANRANTEED IT'S WATERPROOF AND WATER RESISTANT, AVOID FROM DIRECT CONTACT WITH WATER
PRICE/HARGA: RM1200 NEGOTIABLE
BRIEF HISTORY OF BENRUS, SOVEREIGN AND BELFORTE WATCHES
Although the company went out of business in 1977, large numbers of their well made and dependable fine Benrus watches are available as vintage collectors’ items.
Way back in 1921 three brothers called Oscar, Ralph and Benjamin Lazrus founded the Benrus Watch Company. History doesn’t tell us why Benjamin was the brothers’ name that was chosen but the company name, Benrus, is a combination of the first syllable of his name and the second syllable of their family name. Benrus watches is sometimes mistaken for a Swiss watch making company because early in its history the American owned and operated company leased one floor of factory space from a Swiss owned watch making company that was located in La Chaux de Fonds in Switzerland. Their reason for doing this was to help to circumvent the draconian regulations against the use of Swiss watch movements in foreign time pieces. The earliest models of Benrus watches featured precision movements made by the Schild Company, a well known and established Swiss watch maker. The first watch casings from the Benrus Watch Company are not marked with their brand name due to the Swiss regulations discussed previously.
In the decade of the 1930’s the innovative and creative styling of Benrus watches started to attract quite a following. Their chic designs featured such innovations as cushion watches and rectangular shaped watch casings. It was during this period of time that the Benrus Watch Company first became well known to the American consumer market. The company continued to be known as a leader in style and design in the watch making industry. During the 1940’s they made a range of fine time pieces that are avidly sought after by vintage watch collectors today. Perhaps the most famous of these was the manually winding calendar watch.
Other brands that sold under the Benrus name were
SOVEREIGN BELFORTE
In the 1960's through the late 70's, Benrus made military issue watches used by the Army and Navy. These were issued to servicemen fighting in the Vietnam War.
Early in the 1960's Ben and Ralph Lazrus were in their 70's and ready for retirement. By the mid to late 70's Benrus Incorporated was a diversified manufacturer of a number of consumer products. Companies included: Benrus Watch Co. Watches, Wells, Inc. Jewelry, and Destino, Ltd. - Christian Dior Products. An attempt to consolidate all the various manufacturing enterprises under one roof proved to be a much more expensive move than anyone calculated, and a final blow to the company which subsequently filed bankrupt in 1977.
The company was then sold, and after passing through several more hands, came under the ownership of the Hampden Company, which also owned "Fantasy Diamonds", with factories in both the Virgin Islands and Chicago. An attempt was made to bring back the Benrus brand under Hampden/Fantasy, which was somewhat successful but short lived. Among others, a reissue of Vietnam service watches proved very popular.
CASING : SOLID 9K ROSE GOLD - HALLMARKED 375 BY BWC LONDON
MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 29mm DIAMETER WITH CROWN AND 32mm LUG TO LUG
CROWN: ORIGINAL CROWN
STRAP/TALI: 9K GOLD FILLED FLEXI BAND WILL FIT 8" WRIST
DISCONTINUED MODEL... VERY RARE AND HARD TO FIND!
WORKING, GOOD CONDITION AND KEEPING TIME/SANGAT SEMPURNA, TEPAT MASA DAN BERFUNGSI
PRICE : RM950.00(NEGOTIABLE/BOLEH DIRUNDING)
BRIEF HISTORY OF BWC ( Buttes Watch Co.) WATCHES
BWC (Buttes Watch Company) is a small but important watch manufacturer. It was founded in 1924 by Mr. Arthur Charlet in his birthplace, Buttes, found in canton Neuchâtel, Switzerland.The company remains in existence and continues making its presence known with new watches. You can read all about BWC on their website: www.bwc-swiss.de
Charlet’s son-in-law, Mr. Edwin Volkart, took over the company in 1953 and continued to operate it with great attention until 1991. This period in BWC history is its most interesting, at least in regard to vintage chronographs. BWC made made good-quality watches in great stainless steel cases with movements from Lemania, Landeron (48,148,248) and Valjoux (7733, 7734)
Once of the reasons BWC survived the 'quartz crisis' would be its ability to quickly adapt to changing trends and fashions. There are many types of BWC watches in all kinds of shapes and colors, always produced with above-average quality. This high quality helps make BWC watches collectible.
After 1991, BWC's commercial activities were moved to Germany; there were also several changes in ownership. In 2004, BWC was successfully presented at Baselworld, and in 2009, BWC celebrated its 85th anniversary. Below is one of their recent models.
MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 39mm DIAMETER INCLUDING CROWN and 43mm LUG TO LUG
BEZEL: 18K SOLID GOLD BEZEL
DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: -
CROWN: ORIGINAL ROLEX 2 STEPS SOLID GOLD CROWN
STRAP/TALI:GENUINEBLACK CROCO LEATHER BAND WITH ORIGINAL ROLEX GP BUCKLE
SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"
DISCONTINUED ROLEX 18K SOLID GOLD 1601 MODEL WITH CAL.1560 MOVEMENT ... RAREST!
EXCELLENT CONDITION, KEEPING GOODTIME AND RECENTLY SERVICED
PRICE: SOLD TO TUAN OSMAN FROM PETALING JAYA
CURRENT AFTER MARKET VALUE IS RM25,000
BRIEF HISTORY OF ROLEX AND TUDOR WATCHES
The Rolex brand was created by a visionary named Hans Wilsdorf, who was born in Bavaria in the year 1881. Just before the turn of the century young Hans moved to Geneva, and at the age of nineteen discovered the industry of watchmaking. At that time the wristwatch was considered vulgar and uncouth; gentlemen of the day carried pocketwatches. Wristwatches were worn only by women, and the tiny delicate movements were unreliable and imprecise. Leading watchmakers were convinced that the challenges involved in creating an accurate timekeeping device in such a small package were insurmountable. Hans Wilsdorf disagreed. He saw much room for improvement in an industry dominated by traditional thinking.
In 1905 Wilsdorf relocated to London and founded Wilsdorf & Davis in association with his brother-in-law Alfred, a company which manufactured watch cases and distributed wristwatches. Wilsdorf always maintained a very high standard for the quality of his products, so he was continually seeking ways to improve the design of his cases and movements. In cooperation with the firm of Aegler in Bienne, Switzerland, he developed and improved the small-caliber lever escapement movement, and was confident enough to stake a loan of five times the total capital of Wilsdorf & Davis in the first order. From then on, Wilsdorf made and sold watches; his own cases with movements imported from Switzerland. After the turn of the century as wristwatches started to enter the mainstream (as soldiers wore watches on their wrists and the general perception changed from the earlier notion that wristwatches were strictly feminine), Wilsdorf quickly saw how he could take advantage of their emerging popularity by offering a variety of case designs: formal, sporty, casual, etc. He also realized the importance of brand recognition. Until then the custom had been for the retailer�s name to appear on both the dial and the movement, but Wilsdorf wanted to distinguish his watches from those of his competitors, which he considered inferior since they did not submit their products to the exacting tests which he insisted be performed on all of his own. Hence in 1908 he coined the name Rolex, which would henceforth appear on all parts of the watch, including dial, movement, case, and bracelet. No one knows for sure where he got the name; there are many theories on the subject. But everyone agrees that Rolex is a name anyone in Europe or the world at large could easily pronounce, and is short enough to fit comfortably on the dial of any wristwatch.
History was first made by Rolex in 1910 when a movement was sent to the School of Horology at Bienne, and was awarded a chronometer bulletin. This was the first time a wristwatch had ever received the chronometer rating, and suddenly Hans Wilsdorf's brand earned the respect of horologists the world over. Four years later a Rolex movement was awarded a Class A Certificate by the Royal Observatory at Kew, again the first small caliber watch movement to receive the award. Thereupon Wilsdorf decided that all Rolex timepieces should be submitted to similar tests carried out by impartial institutes. No Rolex watch would ever again be sold without its Official Timing Certificate. After World War I, Wilsdorf moved his operation to Geneva to avoid the exorbitant import taxes in England, and renamed his company Montres Rolex S.A., and later simply Rolex S.A. The Aegler company of Bienne provided watch movements to many companies, but only Rolex demanded that each and every movement undergo a weeklong battery of meticulous tests before they would be accepted. Any irregularity whatsoever meant the movement was returned to the workshops. It was due to these stringent methods of quality control that Rolex was able to achieve such high standards in accuracy and make such advancements in the world of horology.
Wilsdorf had long ago realized that for a watch to be accurate over the long term, its case would need not only to withstand the attack of dust and water, but would need to be self winding to protect the mainspring from stress caused by overwinding. The first problem was overcome in 1926 with the creation of the Rolex "Oyster", in which the winding crown was screwed down onto the case using a twin lock system. This brilliant watch was totally protected from the environment since the case was air tight as well as waterproof. In a well publicized event the following year, the Oyster was celebrated after being worn on the wrist by Mercedes Gleitze when she swam the English Channel. The watch made world headlines for keeping perfect time after being immersed in salt water for 15 hours. The Oyster was displayed in jewelry shop windows inside aquariums; keeping time while fish swam through the bracelet.
The first self-winding movement was invented by Abram-Louis Perrelet in the mid 1800's, and later perfected by Abram-Louis Breguet, but was never widely adopted because the mechanism was too delicate for daily use. In 1923 a British watchmaker named John Harwood patented a self-winding watch movement based on a "hammer winding system", which had a semi-circular weight that pivoted at the center of the movement and swung through a 300 degree arc. The swinging weight was actuated by the movement of the wearer. Wilsdorf discarded this system as too impractical. For one thing, Harwood's watch was unable to be set except by turning the bezel, and it used an unreliable friction plate to prevent overwinding. According to Wilsdorf, a truly self-winding watch should be completely automatic, silent, able to revolve in both directions, smooth in action and completely free of buffer springs. These obstacles were surmounted in 1931 when Emile Borer, the technical head of Rolex, invented the "Rotor", whose winding mass could turn both clockwise and counter-clockwise and pivot freely on its axis. The new movement was dubbed the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, and immediately became the world standard, imitated by every watchmaker since.
MOVEMENT/ENJIN: ROLEX 24 JEWELS AUTOMATIC WINDING MOVEMENT
DIAL COLOR: GOLD BRONZE
FUNCTION/FUNGSI: -
HANDS/JARUM: SOLID GOLD DAUPHANE HANDS
MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: SOLID GOLD ARROW HEAD MARKERS
CASING : SOLID 18K YELLOW GOLD - WHOLE CASING
LUGS: 19mm
MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 38mm DIAMETER INCLUDING CROWN and 41mm LUG TO LUG
BEZEL: 18K SOLID GOLD BEZEL
DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: -
CROWN: ORIGINAL ROLEX 2 STEPS SOLID GOLD CROWN
STRAP/TALI:GENUINE BROWN LEATHER BAND
SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: NEW GENUINE CROCO
DISCONTINUED ROLEX ROYAL MODEL... RARE!
EXCELLENT CONDITION, KEEPING GOODTIME AND RECENTLY SERVICED
PRICE: (SOLD TO IVY CHOO FROM DOMINICAN REPUBLIC)
CURRENT AFTER MARKET VALUE IS RM25,000
BRIEF HISTORY OF ROLEX AND TUDOR WATCHES
The Rolex brand was created by a visionary named Hans Wilsdorf, who was born in Bavaria in the year 1881. Just before the turn of the century young Hans moved to Geneva, and at the age of nineteen discovered the industry of watchmaking. At that time the wristwatch was considered vulgar and uncouth; gentlemen of the day carried pocketwatches. Wristwatches were worn only by women, and the tiny delicate movements were unreliable and imprecise. Leading watchmakers were convinced that the challenges involved in creating an accurate timekeeping device in such a small package were insurmountable. Hans Wilsdorf disagreed. He saw much room for improvement in an industry dominated by traditional thinking.
In 1905 Wilsdorf relocated to London and founded Wilsdorf & Davis in association with his brother-in-law Alfred, a company which manufactured watch cases and distributed wristwatches. Wilsdorf always maintained a very high standard for the quality of his products, so he was continually seeking ways to improve the design of his cases and movements. In cooperation with the firm of Aegler in Bienne, Switzerland, he developed and improved the small-caliber lever escapement movement, and was confident enough to stake a loan of five times the total capital of Wilsdorf & Davis in the first order. From then on, Wilsdorf made and sold watches; his own cases with movements imported from Switzerland. After the turn of the century as wristwatches started to enter the mainstream (as soldiers wore watches on their wrists and the general perception changed from the earlier notion that wristwatches were strictly feminine), Wilsdorf quickly saw how he could take advantage of their emerging popularity by offering a variety of case designs: formal, sporty, casual, etc. He also realized the importance of brand recognition. Until then the custom had been for the retailer�s name to appear on both the dial and the movement, but Wilsdorf wanted to distinguish his watches from those of his competitors, which he considered inferior since they did not submit their products to the exacting tests which he insisted be performed on all of his own. Hence in 1908 he coined the name Rolex, which would henceforth appear on all parts of the watch, including dial, movement, case, and bracelet. No one knows for sure where he got the name; there are many theories on the subject. But everyone agrees that Rolex is a name anyone in Europe or the world at large could easily pronounce, and is short enough to fit comfortably on the dial of any wristwatch.
History was first made by Rolex in 1910 when a movement was sent to the School of Horology at Bienne, and was awarded a chronometer bulletin. This was the first time a wristwatch had ever received the chronometer rating, and suddenly Hans Wilsdorf's brand earned the respect of horologists the world over. Four years later a Rolex movement was awarded a Class A Certificate by the Royal Observatory at Kew, again the first small caliber watch movement to receive the award. Thereupon Wilsdorf decided that all Rolex timepieces should be submitted to similar tests carried out by impartial institutes. No Rolex watch would ever again be sold without its Official Timing Certificate. After World War I, Wilsdorf moved his operation to Geneva to avoid the exorbitant import taxes in England, and renamed his company Montres Rolex S.A., and later simply Rolex S.A. The Aegler company of Bienne provided watch movements to many companies, but only Rolex demanded that each and every movement undergo a weeklong battery of meticulous tests before they would be accepted. Any irregularity whatsoever meant the movement was returned to the workshops. It was due to these stringent methods of quality control that Rolex was able to achieve such high standards in accuracy and make such advancements in the world of horology.
Wilsdorf had long ago realized that for a watch to be accurate over the long term, its case would need not only to withstand the attack of dust and water, but would need to be self winding to protect the mainspring from stress caused by overwinding. The first problem was overcome in 1926 with the creation of the Rolex "Oyster", in which the winding crown was screwed down onto the case using a twin lock system. This brilliant watch was totally protected from the environment since the case was air tight as well as waterproof. In a well publicized event the following year, the Oyster was celebrated after being worn on the wrist by Mercedes Gleitze when she swam the English Channel. The watch made world headlines for keeping perfect time after being immersed in salt water for 15 hours. The Oyster was displayed in jewelry shop windows inside aquariums; keeping time while fish swam through the bracelet.
The first self-winding movement was invented by Abram-Louis Perrelet in the mid 1800's, and later perfected by Abram-Louis Breguet, but was never widely adopted because the mechanism was too delicate for daily use. In 1923 a British watchmaker named John Harwood patented a self-winding watch movement based on a "hammer winding system", which had a semi-circular weight that pivoted at the center of the movement and swung through a 300 degree arc. The swinging weight was actuated by the movement of the wearer. Wilsdorf discarded this system as too impractical. For one thing, Harwood's watch was unable to be set except by turning the bezel, and it used an unreliable friction plate to prevent overwinding. According to Wilsdorf, a truly self-winding watch should be completely automatic, silent, able to revolve in both directions, smooth in action and completely free of buffer springs. These obstacles were surmounted in 1931 when Emile Borer, the technical head of Rolex, invented the "Rotor", whose winding mass could turn both clockwise and counter-clockwise and pivot freely on its axis. The new movement was dubbed the Rolex Oyster Perpetual, and immediately became the world standard, imitated by every watchmaker since.
