Sunday 18 November 2012

Certina from the late 50's.

A fine example of a gentleman's watch.

Stainless Steel Certina Date Quick Set Manual Wind Mechanical


This piece became part of my collection sometime in 2006, one of me early acquisition. It's a Swiss Certina (late 1950's). This manual calibre 28-151 is encased in a 33mm stainless steel body.





Certina's history could be traced back until 1888 when its founders, the Kurth brothers, open shop selling watch movements. It was in 1938 (50 years after it was founded), that the present brand Certina was introduced.


Later in 1983, Certina became part of Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG). This was during the time when Swiss watch companies face tough competition from Japanese quartz.





Now based in La Locle, Switzerland, Certina is active in the premier league of motorsports, being the timekeeper for MotoGP races since 1995 until today. 

Certina is also the official sponsor and timekeeper for the Sauber F1 team since 2005 (then it was called the Sauber Petronas F1 Team).




 

The sweeping second hand is the distinguishable  feature of this 50 year-old 28-151 cal. 

The even patina on the metal dial is beautiful, and makes this piece a very fine example of the 1950's Swiss engineering.

This fully hallmarked watch (dial, crown, case, backplate) is in perfect condition to be worn daily. 

Anyone interested with this classic timepiece can email me at khairudin (at) vintagekrono.com (PoA).


All photos taken by me using Canon 5DMk2 with the Sigma 70mm f/2.8 DG Macro.

External references:
www.ranfft.de
wikipedia.org
www.certina.com


Tuesday 6 November 2012

A Lanco Converted 'Aviator' Watch.


The Lanco pocket watches came from the Langendorf Watch Company in the town of Langendorf in Labern, Switzerland.

Started as the Uhrenfabrik Lagendorf SA in 1873, the family owned factory soon became on of the largest watch movement factory in Switzerland (and the world) before the turn of the century.

The business grew along with its reputation for reliability. Thus it was only natural that products coming from this company were issued to the fighting men in both world wars.

The Lanco brand came in just after the war. The brand was successful inheriting its legacy. As with many Swiss watch companies, not many survived the 70's quartz era.


In the early 70's, the company was absorbed into the Omega-Tissot group.

The piece you see here is converted pocket watch with an aviator dial that made LANCO famous with the German Luftwaffe.

The metal dial is new, as the original one did not survive the sands of time.





This 15 rubies hand wound mechanical timepiece is housed in a nickel chromed casing. As with any pocket watches of this era, the strong tic-toc sound can be heard clearly.

The Lanco name can be seen on the main gear, along with the 'Swiss Made' engraving next to it.


The back of the watch was nicely engraved, giving room for personal monogram to be placed on it.



The antique 'onion' crown wounds well, though a bit rough to today's standards.










The leather strap that came with the watch was a bit used. What I did was to get a new green Nato strap for it. It gave this vintage the rightful WW2 aviator feel to it.






Anyone interested with this can email me at khairudin (at) vintagekrono.com (PoA).


Sources:
wikipedia.org, thewatchforum.co.uk, watch-wiki.org.

Photos taken using iPhone4.