LECOULTRE 10KGF “Champagne Two-Tone” 1940s

The watch presented here is a LeCoultre rectangular dress watch in a 10K gold-filled case, made in the 1940s. The dial is two-tone, with a silver panel in the centre framed by a champagne outer section. Applied gold square and baton markers sit around the edge, and a small seconds dial sits at 6 o'clock.

Inside is the hand-wound Cal.11LO, signed LeCoultre Co. with 17 jewels. Its origin is the Cal.410, the rectangular movement LeCoultre developed in 1933 to fit the original Reverso. The same family of movements went on to power LeCoultre's triple calendar and moon phase models and the later Cal.806. The 11LO is a sister calibre of the Cal.438, keeping the 410's layout with a small seconds hand.

The finishing is what makes these movements worth a close look. The edge of each part is bevelled, and the bridges are cleanly finished throughout. LeCoultre was known in the trade as a movement maker, and the work here shows why.

The case carries a less familiar part of the company's history. In the 1940s, LeCoultre movements were shipped to the United States and sold through Longines-Wittnauer, which had American firms make the cases. Most of these cases are stamped with a case maker's name, such as the Star Watch Case Company. This caseback is stamped only "LeCoultre", "10K Gold Filled" and "Cased and Timed in U.S.A.", a marking particular to the early 1940s and rarely seen. LeCoultre had its first branch in New York but no factory there, so the case is American made, and it is a small record of how these watches reached the US market.

For anyone looking for a small gold tank watch with a movement and a history worth knowing, this is a piece to consider seriously.

- wrist size in our picture is 17cm circumference -