Collecting strategy - 1969 vintage chronos
Discussion
Guys
Decided to start collectging 1969 vintage watches. Have targeted certain watches and, ideally, want automatics (apart from the Speedmaster which should be manual wind).
Anyway, I think the Zenith El Primero was one of the first automatic chrono movements and I am sure the 1969 Monaco had a version with calibre 12 automatic movement.
I recently saw a 1969 Wakmann (which has a valjoux movement from Heuer).
So, any 1969 'must haves'?
Decided to start collectging 1969 vintage watches. Have targeted certain watches and, ideally, want automatics (apart from the Speedmaster which should be manual wind).
Anyway, I think the Zenith El Primero was one of the first automatic chrono movements and I am sure the 1969 Monaco had a version with calibre 12 automatic movement.
I recently saw a 1969 Wakmann (which has a valjoux movement from Heuer).
So, any 1969 'must haves'?
Not specifically 69', but a good chronograph collection has got to have atleast one Lemania movement (or a Lemania Speedy; 2 birds with one stone...).
In addition, there are also vintage 2 register Landeron movements, rare Minervas, and a few somewhat odd-looking Venus powered chronographs to look into.
I'm sorry I can't name a specific watch. There were so many brands back then, before quartz practically bankrupted all of the industry.
Just keep browsing, sometimes you'll be lucky enough to come across some weird "off-brand" that has some incredibly rare movement inside.
Edited by Mr. Ice on Saturday 2nd June 03:57
Edited by Mr. Ice on Saturday 2nd June 04:10
johnfm said:
Guys
Decided to start collectging 1969 vintage watches. Have targeted certain watches and, ideally, want automatics (apart from the Speedmaster which should be manual wind).
Anyway, I think the Zenith El Primero was one of the first automatic chrono movements and I am sure the 1969 Monaco had a version with calibre 12 automatic movement.
I recently saw a 1969 Wakmann (which has a valjoux movement from Heuer).
So, any 1969 'must haves'?
The first - hence the name.Decided to start collectging 1969 vintage watches. Have targeted certain watches and, ideally, want automatics (apart from the Speedmaster which should be manual wind).
Anyway, I think the Zenith El Primero was one of the first automatic chrono movements and I am sure the 1969 Monaco had a version with calibre 12 automatic movement.
I recently saw a 1969 Wakmann (which has a valjoux movement from Heuer).
So, any 1969 'must haves'?
Wakmann's are basically Breitlings for the American market.
I would also add a Heuer Carrera (ideal for a Porsche driver ...) to your list - manual wind with Lemania or Valjoux movements. Oh and if you find two at a decent price, do let me know ...
Be careful though they command a lot of money and there are a lot of dubious looking examples out there.
John
Thought you might like this info. Think it came from the TimeZone website:
The Race
The 1960s saw the race towards the development of the world’s first automatic chronograph movement, with two groups of watchmakers in competition to achieve this milestone. The groups of Movado/Zenith (further referred to as M/Z) and Heuer/Breitling/Hamilton/Dubois Depraz (further referred to as H/B/H/DD) achieved their aims independently and exhibited their new developments at the Basel Fair in 1969. Both claimed to be the first to introduce the automatic chronograph movement, however, the Caliber 11 movement of H/B/H/DD had beaten the M/Z group by over a month.
Movado/Zenith
The joint venture between Movado and Zenith aimed to produce an automatic chronograph named "El Primero", which literally means "the first". The automatic winding of the M/Z watch has a centrally positioned rotor. The date indication is in an aperture positioned between the 4 and 5 ‘o clock markers. The chronograph is equipped with 30-minute and 12 hour registers as well as the normal hour and minute hands. There is a small seconds hand at the 9’o clock position and a tachometer scale around the edge of the dial. The balance beats at 36,000 vibs/hour and there are 17 or 31 functional jewels and a rotor running on ball bearings. Called the Caliber 3019 PHC movement, it is used in the Zenith El Primero and the Movado Datron.
Heuer/Breitling/Hamilton/Dubois Depraz
The main competition of M/Z came from the amalgamation of the chronograph specialists Breitling and Heuer-Leonidas with Hamiliton-Bruen and Dubois Depraz, who started the development of their project in 1965. When the delegation of the four houses met together for the first time in 1965, they were so obsessed with keeping things quiet that they gave their project a confidential code name: 99. During this meeting, the role each house would play was distributed in utter secrecy. Bruen would be in charge of the special automatic mechanism (adapted from Bruen’s "Intramatic" caliber: Planetary rotor of heavy winding in both directions via gliding pinion); Dubois-Depraz would be responsible for the chronographic module (chronograph unit 8510 with coulisse-lever switching, equipped with a 12-hour and a 30-minute counter) as well as the oscillating pinion invented by Edouard Heuer. Breitling and Heuer would develop the other components and oversee the design of the watch dial and case.
By 1968, the group had carried out the first conclusive tests and developed experimental prototypes. The winding-mechanism and the caliber 11 chronograph, the ‘chrono-matic’ measuring 13 ¾ lines (31 mm in diameter) and 7.7 mm in height, worked marvellously well, even under extreme conditions, with an accuracy close to the norms required of a chronometer. The world’s first automatic chronograph (developed at a total cost of 500,000 Swiss francs) was officially unveiled on March 3rd 1969, over a month before the Basel fair where the ‘El Primero’ was introduced. Named ‘Chrono-matic’, the movement was used in several models by the developers. Heuer used the movement in the ‘Monaco’, ‘Carrera’ and ‘Autavia’ models, Breitling in the ‘Chrono-matic’ models and Hamilton/Bruen in several models.
Thought you might like this info. Think it came from the TimeZone website:
The Race
The 1960s saw the race towards the development of the world’s first automatic chronograph movement, with two groups of watchmakers in competition to achieve this milestone. The groups of Movado/Zenith (further referred to as M/Z) and Heuer/Breitling/Hamilton/Dubois Depraz (further referred to as H/B/H/DD) achieved their aims independently and exhibited their new developments at the Basel Fair in 1969. Both claimed to be the first to introduce the automatic chronograph movement, however, the Caliber 11 movement of H/B/H/DD had beaten the M/Z group by over a month.
Movado/Zenith
The joint venture between Movado and Zenith aimed to produce an automatic chronograph named "El Primero", which literally means "the first". The automatic winding of the M/Z watch has a centrally positioned rotor. The date indication is in an aperture positioned between the 4 and 5 ‘o clock markers. The chronograph is equipped with 30-minute and 12 hour registers as well as the normal hour and minute hands. There is a small seconds hand at the 9’o clock position and a tachometer scale around the edge of the dial. The balance beats at 36,000 vibs/hour and there are 17 or 31 functional jewels and a rotor running on ball bearings. Called the Caliber 3019 PHC movement, it is used in the Zenith El Primero and the Movado Datron.
Heuer/Breitling/Hamilton/Dubois Depraz
The main competition of M/Z came from the amalgamation of the chronograph specialists Breitling and Heuer-Leonidas with Hamiliton-Bruen and Dubois Depraz, who started the development of their project in 1965. When the delegation of the four houses met together for the first time in 1965, they were so obsessed with keeping things quiet that they gave their project a confidential code name: 99. During this meeting, the role each house would play was distributed in utter secrecy. Bruen would be in charge of the special automatic mechanism (adapted from Bruen’s "Intramatic" caliber: Planetary rotor of heavy winding in both directions via gliding pinion); Dubois-Depraz would be responsible for the chronographic module (chronograph unit 8510 with coulisse-lever switching, equipped with a 12-hour and a 30-minute counter) as well as the oscillating pinion invented by Edouard Heuer. Breitling and Heuer would develop the other components and oversee the design of the watch dial and case.
By 1968, the group had carried out the first conclusive tests and developed experimental prototypes. The winding-mechanism and the caliber 11 chronograph, the ‘chrono-matic’ measuring 13 ¾ lines (31 mm in diameter) and 7.7 mm in height, worked marvellously well, even under extreme conditions, with an accuracy close to the norms required of a chronometer. The world’s first automatic chronograph (developed at a total cost of 500,000 Swiss francs) was officially unveiled on March 3rd 1969, over a month before the Basel fair where the ‘El Primero’ was introduced. Named ‘Chrono-matic’, the movement was used in several models by the developers. Heuer used the movement in the ‘Monaco’, ‘Carrera’ and ‘Autavia’ models, Breitling in the ‘Chrono-matic’ models and Hamilton/Bruen in several models.
Gassing Station | Watches | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff