Gents Longines Wrist Watch, 1941, with Provenance

A gents Longines wrist watch, 1941.

The watch has a very good quality hand-winding movement, 23M with 15 jewels and five adjustments. The movement is signed Longines name and the serial number 6261224 dates it back to 1941.

Longines have consulted their records and confirmed that this serial number refers to “a wristwatch in stainless steel fitted with a Longines manually wound mechanical movement, caliber 23M and was invoiced on 21 August 1943 to the company Danero, which was at that time the Longines agent for Uruguay”.

The 23M movement was introduced in 1939 and was an updated version of the 23, which in turn was derived from the 10.68Z which first appeared in 1932. The 23M was 1mm smaller than the 23, and the winding mechanism was hidden from the damaging effects of perspiration, which was particularly important as Longines sought to take advantage of the lucrative market for luxury watches in hot and humid former British colonial countries.

The 23M is usually found in gold cases so stainless steel versions, such as our example, are more difficult to come by.

The watch measures 31mm diameter excluding the winding crown and the lugs. The inside of the case back is signed with the Longines name. The case is in good condition, there seems to be an old repair on the bottom left lug but it is strong. The winding crown is a later replacement.

The lens is in good condition.

The signed dial has a good look with a subtle two tone finish.

A new leather strap has been fitted.

The watch will be sent in a new presentation box.

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All of our watches are checked over before listing, and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch.

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