I have often read that small watches are pointless/useless/too ****ing small.
Not so with vintage watches of a certain age. Back before the 1960's, small was beautiful, and at one time it was de rigeur.
Here are some of mine that measure 30 mm, and I will explain a little about them where I can.
Rotary Super-Sports.
These models were and still are popular little watches with 15 jewel movements. This dates around 1950.
Bentima Anti Shock.
Bentima is the UK importers name for Oris watches, and used the Oris pin pallet movements. This one dates to around 1950.
Lucerne Chromatic.
Don't know much about this, except it uses a one jewel Lapanousse type movement.
Sekonda military Style.
Made in the USSR around 1970, using a Slava movement. Looks very similar to the cheaply made Timex military style watch from the same time.
Zentra automatic.
This pretty little auto uses the ETA cal.1256, the first auto from the marque made from 1950-1954. This example has a date on the inside case back, '12/50', making this an early example.
Hope you enjoyed this, and please feel free to post your own 30mm. examples.
Bob.
I have noticed over the past several months the number of people wearing smaller watches is increasing.
I live in an area which has a lot of trendy types and nearly all of them wear smaller <40mm watches.
A lot of the watches look like vintage omega’s from the 50/60s, Rolex airkings etc that kind of thing.
I guess trends and fashions go around in circles.
I have no bias against smaller dials...
HOWEVER my eyesight is not what it once was and legibility would mean I would never buy one that size
I do like that Zentra. I have owned two or three 31mm cased watches, a couple of which have worn much more like 35mm. No longer have them though, 36mm is my preferred sweet spot and most of my collection are around that size with a couple a tad smaller.
Hmmm You’ve given me food for thought. I’ve always been drawn to watches that are 40mm or more although I do have three that are 34mm in size. Now that I’m seeing your collection of vintage pieces and how elegant they all look, I’m wondering if I’ve overlooked a watch type here that actually looks quite appealing.
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Lovely selection Bob, I can’t match that of course. I do very much like 30mm watches though, including this Helvetia (naturally):
Dennison Aquatite case, NOS pigskin strap and deployant, lovely winding action.
Great post bobbee,
I have drawers full of these old watches and can never resist buying more as they turn up at boot sales etc !
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A couple more, 40 years apart. I don’t wear the Timex.
Is that Helvetia on the left 30mm James? Really like that one.
Indeed it is. I’ve posted it a couple of times so at the risk of boring others, I’ll just say it has a dinky 10.5 ‘’’ chrono movement.Originally Posted by Tetlee
A couple of Helvetias I have for sale with a pigskin box !
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Thanks all for the posts, glad you like them.
Brendan, James, those watches are lovely!
Is that top one a Borgel/Taubert case Brendan? I have a non-worker looks similar to that case.A couple of Helvetias I have for sale with a pigskin box !
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Just in case anyone get any dual id ideas, I’m Simon
I’d love to see some more 30mm watches, especially with complications.
I'm watching you, sonny! 👮Just in case anyone get any dual id ideas, I’m Simon
I’d love to see some more 30mm watches, especially with complications.
You know I have that 28mm. Bulova chronograph, but also have a Thomas Russell & Son. cushion case at 30mm. Maybe another somewhere...😀
No. Screw back case.
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Hi, new to this site though not to watch collecting
While my main watch interest is early (pre-1979) Seiko quartz analogue watches, I couldn't resist this 30mm Dennison Aquatite cased Bernex watch, which I picked up on ebay for really silly money.
When received it was not running, but as it was such a nice little watch I decided to invest some me money in it and had it serviced.
As received :-
And how it is today.
John.....
Very nice watch John, my Rotary Super-Sports at the top also uses the Dennison Aquatite case.
And welcome to the forum, hope you enjoy it here.
Bob.
Hi John and welcome. Lovely watch. Like bobbee, I also have an Aquatite-cased watch in this thread in post #6. Great that you took the trouble to get it working. Did you replace the seals in the case? I was planning to do that for mine when I gave it a good clean up, but the caseback seal was in such good condition I just greased it and put it back. It would be good to know if the seals are available.Hi, new to this site though not to watch collecting
While my main watch interest is early (pre-1979) Seiko quartz analogue watches, I couldn't resist this 30mm Dennison Aquatite cased Bernex watch, which I picked up on ebay for really silly money.
John.....
I’ve got a pre-1979 quartz watch as well but maybe that is another thread :).
I doubt I could even see a 30mm dial!
M
Hi, thanks, like yours the case back seal was in very good condition and was cleaned and re-greased. The crown seal is still intact but just how well it seals is anyone's guess. I doubt very much if genuine seals were still available?
These Aquatite cases were really state of the art for 'sports/adventure' watches in the early 1950's as can be seen from Dennison's advertising,
and they were also used by Rolex and Omega at the time....
From the case number on mine I can fairly reliably date it to 1953.
Many thanks Bob, seems a fairly lively forum so expect to be contributing a bit
The movement in my Bernex is an FHF 28 and the Aquatite case appears to be very heavily gold plated, thought at first that I had got really lucky and scored a solid gold watch, but never mind, what's not to like for a tenner?
Last edited by John_D; 26th July 2018 at 15:16.
For me a small watch is nothing compared to the opposite , massive watches on small arms so it looks like this massive dive computer.
Can I ask where you found the date reference? I’d like to date mine.
Just by searching the internet for other Aquatite cased watches. I have been able to date some gold cased ones from the hall marks and the Everest Smith ones have a lower number than mine. From what I have been able to deduce, mine is late 1953. There is a chap on another watch forum who is/has apparently compiled a definitive list of Aquatite case numbers and I'm currently trying to get in contact with him by PM but he hasn't yet seen my message.
My research has shown that Dennison stopped watch case production in 1940 and turned all production over to rocket projector beams for the RAF. They didn't start to manufacture watch cases again till 1947 and as far as I can make out they didn't produce the first Aquatite watch case till late 1951 or early 1952, so very much state of the art when Hillary took the Smith's Aquatite cased watch up to the top of Everest in May 1953.
The case number on mine is 111479. I have found a pre Everest Aquatite cased Smith watch, reputed to be manufactured in 1951 with the case number 50361 and another apparently post Everest, 1954, watch with the case number of 124375.
John...
Last edited by John_D; 26th July 2018 at 22:30.
I suppose this dating system would put my Rotary at circa 1951/52?
Would have expected some time in 1953, think that number is higher than the Everest watches, sadly cant find the picture now of the back of Hillary's watch, though seem to remember the case number started with an '8' , however there is no evidence that it came straight from the factory prior to him receiving it.......Hopefully if I can get in contact with the guy compiling the Aquatite case number data base all will become clearer.I suppose this dating system would put my Rotary at circa 1951/52?
Great research John_D, I’m sure there are some on MWR who would be very interested.
Strangely I don’t have a serial number on the caseback.
While it is a Dennison case, it doesn't actually call it 'Aquatite', just waterproof, shock absorber and anti magnetic.......I'm inclined to think that this is a later case, possibly 1960's? (definitely pre-1970 because then 'WaterProof' was changed to 'Water Resistant/Resist' to appease the 'mercan market......Great research John_D, I’m sure there are some on MWR who would be very interested.
Strangely I don’t have a serial number on the caseback.
That’s a good point, an important detail that I missed. The movement dates from c. 1950+ a few years, particularly as it has the pre-Incabloc Helvetia shock absorber. Could have been recased I suppose although the ‘patina’ (dirt) inside the case showed it they had been one watch for a very long time. Maybe this design predated the Aquatite brand name?
Some food for thought HERE......
With this talk of 're-casing' I suppose I should hold my hands up and document what I have done to my Bernex watch.....
When I received the watch I quickly deduced that the FHF28 movement had a broken mainspring, and that quite a few of the screws showed signs of abuse.
While a replacement spring for the slightly thicker/taller FHF26 is readily available, Cousins show the slightly narrower main spring for the FHF28 as 'obsolete'.
I got very lucky at this point and managed to pick up an uncased 'spares' Burnex watch with an FHF28 movement for £13, (which is less than a replacement spring if I could actually get one) with the intention of using the mainspring in the original movement.
When I received it however it was obviously in far better condition than the original movement
and slightly later (about 1955) with addition of Incablock shockproof technology.
When I put it on the Timegrapher I was pleasantly surprised to see how well it ran........
and that a proper service from someone far more skilled than me (Richard Askham) would result in a really good movement that would render the watch more 'wearable' and robust.
With this in mind I decided to get Richard to service the later movement and swap it over, replacing the missing second hand and re-luming the hour and minute hands.
This is how the watch runs now, after Richards attention:- (bearing in mind that the current temperature in my 'office' is 36C this is quite impressive!)
I have retained the original movement, should I ever sell the watch, so that I can pass it on to the new owner to re-instate it if they so desired.....
Last edited by John_D; 27th July 2018 at 12:46.
That's a great movement John, and thanks for the interesting link above.
Here is an advert for Dennison from a 1947 copy of De Carle's 'Practical Watch Repairing'.
A Bernex ad fromfor the same book.
Excellent, thanks. The 1954/55 date for the third type of case could conceivably overlap with the movement. I’m pretty sure the whole case is steel though, but I’ll go and give it another good look.
Thanks for sharing the two adverts Bob, hadn't seen them before and rather apt as 1947 was my birth year.That's a great movement John, and thanks for the interesting link above.
Here is an advert for Dennison from a 1947 copy of De Carle's 'Practical Watch Repairing'.
A Bernex ad fromfor the same book.
I've added them to my collection of of period ads, got a few for Dennison, and Smiths, but that is the first that I've seen for Bernex.
Still a bit puzzled about my Aquatite case, all of the early cases that I've seen so far have been chrome plated brass and some later cases, into the early 1960's, have been hallmarked 9K gold but this is the only rolled gold one that I have seen.
I know Dennisons produced rolled gold cases for pocket watches in the 1920's/30's in three grades, which were designated and marked with :-
a)'Sun', with inside and outside of the case in 14K gold, for 25years wear guarantee,
b)'Moon', with inside and outside of 10K gold, for 20 years wear guarantee and
c)'Star', with the outside layer of 9K gold, but the inside only plated, for 10 years wear guarantee.
The markings, depending on the size of the case were in script or symbols.
I've searched all over my case and can find no markings other than those on the back. The case is now about 65 years old and despite having a few scrapes and dings the gold layer is still totally covering the case with no obvious signs of a base metal core.
It was the quality of the case that made me decide to spend some money having it restored. I suppose that with the purchase of the two watches and having the restoration done it owes me about £100, which is probably it's true value on a good day?
This Record watch I once owned is in a 29mm. "Meteor" 10 year case by Dennison, and the plating was unworn!
Top quality cases Dennison, and I've yet to see one with a poor movement inside.
Sadly, the same for me. Some lovely examples of horological history but I struggle to tell the time on some 40mm watches. But I can at least still appreciate these smaller watches ..
I like them, off the wrist. A friend of mine occasionally wears 30mm +/- gold PP with formal dress and it looks odd to my eyes.
Fas est ab hoste doceri
If anyone like JohnD enjoy their vintage adverts, I (and others) posted many hundreds of them here:
https://forums.watchuseek.com/f11/ec...s-2138042.html
Enjoy!
Well that's my evening entertainment fixed, just looked at the first six pages, think I'm going to be there for some time.......
There's a good article on Dennison's on the Constellation Collectors Blog (I wrote it) :-)
http://omega-constellation-collector...-monetary.html
Very interesting Andrew, hadn't known about the import restrictions of gold watches, answers a lot of questions, one of which is why my wife's late mother's 1934 Buren Rival Swiss made watch has a Dennison gold case.
Can you share with us the Aquatite case dating information please?
Last edited by John_D; 15th August 2018 at 10:00.
A great watch is a great watch period, regardless of size. Wear what gives you enjoyment.
I don't know why but I like smaller watches more. Having said that the smallest I have is 36mm and biggest one is around 42mm so I have never tried a 30mm watch but I think I will like it if it is a nice watch :)
Well said.
I have 8-inch wrists, and own vintage men's watches from 28mm up to 47mm, and have worn them all.
I get a kick from them all.
Just to give you an idea, 28mm Bulova 'Stop-Watch' from 1942 versus 47mm Sicura Rally GT4 circa 1975.
I have a couple, the Oris is a runner, the Orion not so good...
Just a little update I thought might interest some of you.
The S/S Zentra above bears an inscription on the case back, done in a military way as can be seen below.
Here is what I have dug up on the only 'SANDERS B.G.' I have found in the correct time span.
1949 excerpt:
1941 excerpt:
It appears after serving in the Somersets, he was moved or asked for a transfer to the Northamptonshires a year or so before acquiring the watch.
Not written in stone obviously, but highly probable.
I came around to appreciate smaller watches, although I draw the line at 35/36 mm.
The simple dials start to look oversized if I go above this
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Fascinating as usual Bob. Quite a senior officer then.
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