Vintage 1930s Rare Tavannes Swiss Stainless Steel Rectangle Mens Watch 17J Watersport Model
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$950.00
$875.00
$875.00
per item
I think Tavannes Watch Co. may be one of the most important, and least known brand, that people associate with horological history. The original founder of Tavannes, located in a small town in the Jura Mountains, the town is also called Tavannes, was an inquisitive man. Henri Frédéric Sandoz, the founder, was fascinated by what had been accomplished in American watchmaking, in which he took several trips to examine. His most famous dynasty, is that he was the first to make machine tools exclusively to the Swiss watch industry; a move that took well with the Swiss and changed watchmaking techniques in Switzerland for many years. Although, his company, Tavannes, was not just a run of the mill watchmaker. They were very high grade with a focus on military watches and sports / utility watches. I also believe it's documented somewhere...because I remember reading it, that Rolex, in their early years, leaned on Tavannes for at least a few things.
The watch we see here is an amazing example of their early waterproof watch system, developed in the 1930's by Tavannes, and finally brought to market in the USA by the early 1940's. This was great for the company as they were now able to supply thousands of military personal with some of their best sports watches made for military use and other stressful utility use, by then, the watch looked slightly different than this one, but not by much. It is actually highlighted on the company's webpage in their history section. This watch is of particular importance because it is one of the earliest examples I've found, with what appears to be very well preserved. The dial appears original, it does look more like the lighter color dial in the photos; the middle of the dial is not as brown in real life as it appears in the photo booth. I believe this is the earliest movement used for the watch and we see Brevet stamping inside the case and patent on the movement, further verifying it's age.
There is very little overall wear on this watch, it was just serviced and working great. It measures 23mm wide without including the crown and about 35mm from lug end to lug end. It's a decent size, a little bigger than the average dress tank of the time. Anyhow, this is a mighty damn handsome watch in near mint condition and full stainless steel. The only flaw I can find is that you have to be careful with pulling out the crown to set the watch. If you pull too hard, the stem and crown can possibility come out, but due to the type it is, all you have to do is push it back in and press all the way down, start winding the watch a bit and the stem will engage. Next time don't pull so hard! :). This is not a flaw to repair from what we can see. It is a matter of the design of the watch. The crown snaps in tightly, and when you try to pull it hard to the setting position, you may end up bringing it to the position, but not stop pulling in time. So, all you have to do is be gentle with setting, they appeared to take water proofing seriously. But as the industry agrees, never put any vintage watch in water regardless of what the original ratings are.
I've gone and wrote too much. Bottom line, this is a serious piece of history from a famous Swiss watch manufacturer (google their history), it's in near perfect condition and all original except for a lightly worn leather replacement strap. And most important, it looks awesome!
The watch we see here is an amazing example of their early waterproof watch system, developed in the 1930's by Tavannes, and finally brought to market in the USA by the early 1940's. This was great for the company as they were now able to supply thousands of military personal with some of their best sports watches made for military use and other stressful utility use, by then, the watch looked slightly different than this one, but not by much. It is actually highlighted on the company's webpage in their history section. This watch is of particular importance because it is one of the earliest examples I've found, with what appears to be very well preserved. The dial appears original, it does look more like the lighter color dial in the photos; the middle of the dial is not as brown in real life as it appears in the photo booth. I believe this is the earliest movement used for the watch and we see Brevet stamping inside the case and patent on the movement, further verifying it's age.
There is very little overall wear on this watch, it was just serviced and working great. It measures 23mm wide without including the crown and about 35mm from lug end to lug end. It's a decent size, a little bigger than the average dress tank of the time. Anyhow, this is a mighty damn handsome watch in near mint condition and full stainless steel. The only flaw I can find is that you have to be careful with pulling out the crown to set the watch. If you pull too hard, the stem and crown can possibility come out, but due to the type it is, all you have to do is push it back in and press all the way down, start winding the watch a bit and the stem will engage. Next time don't pull so hard! :). This is not a flaw to repair from what we can see. It is a matter of the design of the watch. The crown snaps in tightly, and when you try to pull it hard to the setting position, you may end up bringing it to the position, but not stop pulling in time. So, all you have to do is be gentle with setting, they appeared to take water proofing seriously. But as the industry agrees, never put any vintage watch in water regardless of what the original ratings are.
I've gone and wrote too much. Bottom line, this is a serious piece of history from a famous Swiss watch manufacturer (google their history), it's in near perfect condition and all original except for a lightly worn leather replacement strap. And most important, it looks awesome!
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