Important Collectors’ Wristwatches, P...

Geneva, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Du Rhône, May 13, 2007

LOT 275

Staybrite Chronograph Longines, movement No. 6210683, serial No.21514. Made circa 1945. Very fine and rare, stainless steel ?Staybrite? gentleman`s wristwatch with round button chronograph, registers and tachometer.

CHF 11,000 - 16,000

EUR 7,000 - 10,000 / USD 9,000 - 13,000

Sold: CHF 15,340

C. Two-body, polished and brushed, flat bezel, downturned lugs, large winding crown, screw-down back. D. Black with painted silver Arabic numerals, subsidiary dials for the seconds and the 30-minute register, outer minute/seconds and 1/5th seconds divisions, outermost tachometer scale. Steel ?feuille? hands. M. Cal. 13 ZN, 13???, rhodium-plated and gilt, 19 jewels, monometallic balance, shock absorber, self-compensating Breguet balance spring, index regulator. Dial, case and movement signed. Diam. 37.5 mm. Thickness 13 mm. Properrty of a Swiss collector


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3-28-01

Good

Replacements

HANDS Original

Notes

It is extremely rare to find a Staybrite chronograph sports watch in such excellent condition. Longines The beginnings of Longines can be traced to 1832, when Auguste Agassiz began working at the Comptoir Horloger Raiguel Jeune in the small Swiss town of Saint-Imier. In 1833 he and two associates founded Comptoir Raiguel Jeune & Cie. In 1847 Agassiz became the sole owner. In 1852, Agassiz' nephew Ernest Francillon joined the company and in 1862 he took it over from his uncle. He renamed it Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, Successeur. In 1866, Francillon bought land near a place called Les Longines. Here he built a factory, in which the firm?s entire production was grouped under one roof. The first Longines movement was created in 1867. That year Ernest Francillon returned from the Paris Exhibition with a bronze medal for a keyless watch. On July 19, 1880 the Longines brand and logo were registered at the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property. The Longines factory underwent a massive reorganization of production methods in the 1920s and 30s. In 1912 Longines became the official timekeeper for the 1912 Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basel, Switzerland. In 1927 Longines timed the first transatlantic flight, which lasted 33 hours and 30 minutes. Pilot Amelia Earhart was a famous wearer of the Longines brand. This period also marked the appearance of the first in-house self-winding movement watches; the company won several prestigious awards. Among these were four Diamonds-International Academy Awards and the Lausanne Prix d'Honneur. The 1980s were marked by a series of ultra-thin designs. In 1982 the factory issued a collection dedicated to the new partnership of Longines and the Ferrari Formula 1 Team. In 1984 Longines began developing high precision mechanical watches, which were 5 to 10 times more precise than quartz movements. On 19th February 2001 Longines produced the 30 millionth watch made at their factory. In 2002 the brand celebrated the 170th anniversary of their flying hourglass logo, the oldest registered trademark in haute horlogerie.