This Bring A Loupe will be dedicated entirelely to everyone's favorite complication, the chronograph. You will find an extremely rare (and very exotic looking) Zenith El Primero, the reference G383, produced in only 200 examples in 1970. We also scoured eBay in order to find some relatively affordable chronographs, most of them under $1,000. As you might expect, no Heuer or Universal Geneve made it this week given our budget constraint, but you will discover some other really exciting watches from Wittnauer, Minerva, and Mathey-Tissot. This is your Bring A Loupe for February 19, 2016.
A Minerva Chronograph Reference VD712 With A Better Dial Than It Seems
This Minerva is a good example of a nice looking three-register chronograph that does not break the bank. The Minerva VD712 is powered by the famous Valjoux 72 (also found in vintage Rolex Daytonas) and apparently this chrono was even used by the Swedish army – you can find some great shots of the military engravings here. The dial here notably features a base 100 scale, mostly used by engineers to calculate, for instance, the output of a production chain within a certain timeframe (this is one of the less well known and less often seen chronograph scales). The condition of the 36 mm case is quite good, and the dial much better than it looks in the pictures – often, scratches on the plexiglass can give the illusion that the dial has faded in some parts; other images from the listing confirm that the Minerva logo and the red outside track are both fine.
This promising Minerva just broke the $1,500 mark on eBay here.
A Zenith El Primero Reference G383 – What A Dial!
This is one of the rarest, and craziest, El Primeros that Zenith ever produced. Only 200 examples were made, but this fact pales in comparison to the exuberant "Poker Chip" dial. Its design is absolutely unique, and it manages to be over-the-top and weirdly seductive at the same time. The indexes here might raise some questions, as they do not feature the surrounding metal markers seen on most of the other G383 – this subject was actually covered on some forums here and there. That said, other similar examples can be found: one other is currently listed, with papers, on Chrono24, and some documentation also refers to this dial configuration here. The jury is still out regarding this dial – Zenith might simply have ordered two runs of dials for the G383, for the versions with and without the integrated bracelet.
Matthew Bain has this dashingly unconventional El Primero listed here.
A Wittnauer Reference 7004B With World Time Bezel
Wittnauer is also one of those brands too often overlooked – and this chronograph is a good example of that. The black dial version of the Professional Chronograph is way more prevalent, but the brushed silver dial creates a dramatic effect, especially in contrast to the red 24-hour external track complementary to the world-time bezel. Its dimensions are pretty contemporary: 40 mm case with 20 mm lugs, like the modern Rolex Submariner. And everything on our checklist looks pretty good: great case, original signed crown, and serviced movement. Overall, the lume is attractively patinated – although it is a bit crackled on the hour hand. Yes, all this proves that Wittnauer was not only the U.S. importer of Longines, but they also made some very decent watches as well.
The dealer Watchsteez is offering this stunning Wittnauer for $2,650 here.
A Mathey-Tissot Chronograph – Not The First Time It's Come Up For Sale
A quick run through eBay history reveals that this chronograph has been repeatedly offered on eBay over the past month, with the asking price decreasing from $3,300 to $1,750 today. Why hasn't it been picked yet? Well, the condition of the 44 mm (!) case could be better, and it has been polished pretty heavily – uou can see that from the dulled edges of the barrel case and the half-erased markings on the case back. The two missing lume dots on top of the dial are also arguments for a discount. That said, the grey dial with the red tracks is eye-catching, and inside you will find a Valjoux 726, an improved version of the same Valjoux 72 mentioned above. Note that this chronograph model is showcased on Mathey-Tissot's website here. Mathey-Tissot is not related to the Tissot brand in any way, but you might have heard of them as a favorite of Elvis Presley, or as the manufacturer of many vintage Breguet Type 20s.
You can find this Mathey-Tissot for $1,750 on eBay here.
A Hamilton Fontainebleau Reference 11001-3 With Panda Dial
This is not a watch for the faint of heart, with its 47 mm case and 14 mm thickness. But if you are open to its atypical case shape, the Hamilton Fontainebleau is actually a great pick – a smart way to get a coveted panda dial for a reasonable amount. Here, I really like that the seller mentions the chronograph hands reset correctly, as finding out this isn't the case can be a costly discovery with a chronograph movement. This Hamilton Chrono-Matic uses the famous caliber 11, which is automatic thanks to its embedded micro-rotor from Buren and often identifiable by the setting crown at 9 o'clock. You can find the caliber 11 on many other chronographs from Hamilton, Heuer, and Breitling; in the mid-1960s those brands united in the race for the first automatic chronograph movement against the two other players, Seiko and Zenith. All came up with a different solution, back in 1969.
This bold Hamilton is offered for $1,099 on eBay here.
A Wakmann Chronograph With Orange Hands
Last but not least, Wakmann – who you might know as Breitling's local agent in the U.S. They also offered some pretty sweet watches, but let's get the facts straight – those were never manufactured by Breitling, unless the watch is double-signed Breitling/ Wakmann on the dial, as Breitling was doing in France with Lip or UTI. Nonetheless, this Wakmann is very reminiscent of the Top Time line from Breitling, with the same attractive reverse panda dial, but tops it with some really cool orange hands – although I am not sure that the hour and minutes hands are actually original. I would have expected some straighter hands than this syringe shape, more in line with a similar example offered here.
You can find the interesting Wakmann on eBay here, at the time of publishing bidding was below $400.
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