Bruce's Vintage Watches
Fine timepieces at reasonable prices from a name you trust.
All yellow gold filled case measures 38mm long lug to lug, by 29mm wide, not including crown. Case showing noticeable brass on bezel's high spots. Good original silvered dial. Recessed crown. 17 jewel automatic movement winds, sets, and runs to within 2 min/day or better, but not know when last serviced. Used but nice 18mm peanut brown leather band. Longines shares this case design with Wittnauer, but I believe the Longines version was only available with a manual wind movement.
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Olympic was an import brand by a company in New York that was featured mainly in jobber catalogs of the 1920s and '30s and even up to the early '40s. They tended to use cheaper, low-jeweled movements, so imagine my surprise when finding that this doctor's watch contains a 17 jewel movement. Pioneer signed case measures 38mm long lug to lug, by 21mm wide and is a gold electroplate bezel with a stainless steel back. Refinished black dial. Replacement crown and crystal. Movement winds, sets, and keeps time to within 2 min/day but not known when last serviced. NOS 14mm pigskin strap. This watch looks best on a small- to medium-size wrist.
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Fairly well worn base metal (electroplated) case with stainless steel snapback measures 44mm long lug to lug, by 36mm diameter, not including crown. Refinished dial. 17J Landeron movement winds and sets fine, all chrono functions operate properly (start, stop, reset). Measures to 60 minutes elapsed time. Used but serviceable 18mm brown leather strap. Your basic post WWII 2-register chronograph. Well worn, but everything works. These usually only measure to 30 minutes, but this one goes to 60 minutes.
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$195.00
Excellent all 10kt yellow gold filled case made by Star Watch Case Co. measures 40 long lug tip to lug top, by 22mm wide not including crown. Case is stamped 501 245 on inside which dates to 1936 year of production. * Good original dial. Replacement crown. 15J Caliber 501 movement winds and sets perfectly, just serviced (clean/oil/adjust) and keeps time to within 2 min/day. I have only seen pictures of the "Major" in ads; I have never had one in the flesh. The only one I know who ever had one (or at least made it public) was Mike Barnett, who offered one for sale in 2015. The model probably didn't sell very well due to its rather feminine look of a small circle inside the bezel. Finished with a used 16mm brown leather strap.
* Mike Barnett's online Gruen database, http://www.gruenwristwatches.com/new-dating-method-2.php.
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$195.00
Good 14kt all gold filled case measures 38mm long lug to lug, by 31mm diameter. High point on chevron shows brass and a small bump. Excellent original hr/min wheels. 21J Caliber 719 movement sets and winds perfectly, runs to within 2 min/day but not known when last serviced. Good 18mm black leather band. The "Chevron" is one of three digital direct reading watches that Elgin introduced in the 1950s. The other two were the "golf ball" with dimpled bezel, also in a round case, and the "Elvis", a rectangular shaped watch with raised (embossed) logo. Priced accordingly.
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$400.00
white plated bezel with stainless steel back case measures 26mm wide (excluding winding crown) by 36mm high tip of lug to tip of lug. Case with solid wire lugs is in excellent condition. Back is engraved "To Jack in appreciation from the Ryan brothers 1950." Excellent original dial and hands. Watch movement sets and winds perfectly. Watch runs to within 2 min/day, but not known when last serviced. 17mm Hirsch leather foldover leather band. Case is signed "Mandley stainless steel." This watch is a bit of a curiosity. know Tudor made some dress watch right after WWII, but I've never seen one dated as late as this one. Nice looking dress watch.
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All white gold filled Wadsworth case measures 38mm long lug tip to lug tip, by 24mm wide, not including crown. The movement on this is very interesting, a Caliber 9RW-54, 15J signed "A. Wittnauer." It is a formed movement, similar to the Gruen Quadron series. The movement was also used in Longines watches, with the Caliber designation of 9.47 and 9.47N. The entire watch is a dead ringer for a Gruen Quadron, and even has a recessed crown. The dial is an older refinish. Crown appears original. The lug opening is 19.5mm and has a dark tan leather strap. A larger watch for its era, it has a striking look to it on the wrist.
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Case style number 335 723 corresponds to 1950 year of production *. Good gold filled case, some wear is evident. Refinished dial. This model is called the "Barclay," though many collectors refer to it as the "Spider," due to its case resembling a spider or spider web. The 335 was one of Gruen's best movements, with 21 jewels, and enjoys the distinction of the only Gruen movement to be made in the USA. Gruen tried this strategy in the early 1950s to avoid the high import taxes on Swiss-made movements, but the strategy ultimately failed, and the expense of building and tooling a watch movement factory was one of the factors that led to Gruen's demise. Anyway, while the Barclay is not necessarily a "rare" watch, it is uncommon because its radical design proved rather unpopular in its day. We see examples from 1950 to 1952, so it wasn't offered for sale for very long. 16mm black leather band. * Mike Barnett's online Gruen database, http://www.gruenwristwatches.com/new-dating-method-2.php.
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$1,095.00
Excellent all stainless steel screwback case measures 45mm long lug to lug, by 35mm wide, not including crown. Excellent original dial. Original signed crown. Excellent original dial. 15J caliber 30T2 movement. 18mm black leather strap. Great looking British military issue Omega, unmolested condition.
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Excellent 9kt solid rose gold hinged case with wire lugs measures 26mm wide (excluding winding crown) by 37mm high tip of lug to tip of lug. Back is engraved "To Norman on this 26th birthday from Mom and Dad 14.11.38." Good original dial, beautiful quadrant pattern. Replacement crystal and correct crown. Watch movement sets and winds perfectly. Watch runs to within 2 min/day, but not known when last serviced. 18mm black band with foldover ends.
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$400.00
Solid 9kt solid rose gold case measures 29mm wide (excluding winding crown) by 37mm high tip of lug to tip of lug. Case with solid wire lugs is in excellent condition. Back is engraved "P.J. Dene 22.8.49." Good dial appears to be the original. Original baton hands. Watch movement sets and winds perfectly. Watch runs to within 2 min/day, but not known when last serviced. 16mm Hirsch leather foldover leather band. Case is signed "Mandley 9ct." This is a post-WWII Europe Tudor. I have little doubt the case is original because Tudor (and its parent company Rolex) was using all kinds of subcontractors to meet the post-war demand for watches. Nice looking piece for the smaller wrist.
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Jan. 22, 2019
Happy new year eveyone! Here's 21 new watches to look at!
I have returned early this year from winter hiatus. I hope you all had a great holiday. I've cleared the website of old merchandise and have 20 new watches for you to look at. Priced from $195 to $1,195, there's something here for everybody. There's two Rolexes, three Tudors, an Omega British military, and outstanding IWC in 18kt solid gold. There's a LeCoultre alarm with beautiful black bullseye dial, and a couple of unusual Gruens, including a Barclay and a Major. There's a Doxa WWII-era military, and a Gallet regulator style chronograph. There's a couple of duo-dials, including a Mimo and an Olympic. Rounding out the selection are a Wittnauer open frame, an Elgin direct read, a Cyma cushion in 9kt, a Charles Nicolet…
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