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Vintage Wristwatches For Sale From The 1920s.

If the 1910s was the decade that saw the wristwatch brought from obscurity to a mass market, then the 1920s was the one in which the genre took on an identity of its own, breaking free from the stylistic inheritance of its pocket watch derived beginnings.

It is fascinating to assemble a selection of vintage wristwatches from the 1920s and lay these out, side by side, in chronological order. Amazing as it might sound to the casual browser, the pace of change within the industry was so rapid at this time, that it is possible to actually identify evolution in both case and movements on an almost yearly basis.

For instance, if we look at a model from say, 1921 or 1922, it may well be in a cushion or tonneau shaped case, but it will almost certainly still have the same soldered wire lugs that typified the circular officers’ watches of the Great War era. Fast forward three or four years to 1925 and 1926, and the same shaped watches now have noticeably more substantial lugs, still soldered, but no longer in wire but cast and in a heavier, flat section.

Art deco was the overriding aesthetic influence of the 1920s, with an increase in rectangular and square case shapes as the decade drew on. There were still plenty of circular watches, but these were rather anachronistic and would have appealed to a more conservative audience at the time.

The enamel dials of the previous decade were seen less and less, these being usurped by metal dials to which a layer of paint had been applied, or guilloche dials that were created by hand turning a pattern a spiral grooves into a sheet of German silver. It is often assumed that the phasing out of enamel dials came about as part of a drive to cut production costs but in fact, accounts published in industry reports at the time suggest that in fact, the thickness of enamel dials made them unsuited to narrow rectangular and tonneau cases. Being much thinner, metal dials were an ideal solution to this problem and fitted far more easily into slender art deco cases.

The exuberance of the jazz age was even expressed on cases themselves. While the case sides of the previous decade had been plain, in the 1920s we regularly saw cases that were decorated around the edges with a deco ancient Greek key pattern, acanthus leaves or stylised flowers. All these aspects became more and more exaggerated as the 1920s wore on. Similarly, there was a trend towards taking advantage of the different colours of gold available. Over the years, in our business we have seen pink, yellow, white and, most exotic of all, green gold used in watches from this era.

It is rather easy to be so captivated by the flamboyant look of many models offered at this time that one overlooks the technical advances that were also being made. From 1924 onwards, fragile glass for watch crystals was progressively replaced by the newly developed celluloid, which was far more resistant to impact and not prone to shattering. Movements were no longer nickel plated, but were instead largely finished in rhodium. Plates were not often plain, particularly not when by the famous makers, but were covered in elegant Geneva stripes, these being buffed into them by hand with a rotating boxwood or ivory disk. Movements with 15, 17 and 18 jewels were offered by the top tier makers and the smaller wristwatch movement had reached a stage of development that brought it to a level of reliability that was comparable to that of the pocket watches from the same era. Initially, at its dawn, due to its reduced size, the wristwatch had been less accurate and less reliable than the pocket watch, but as advancements in both movement design and manufacturing filtered down to general production, it was inevitable that the wristwatch would eventually overtake the pocket watch in popularity with the general public, which it would finally do in the following decade.

Automatic winding was applied to wristwatches for the first time in 1924 at the hands of the Englishman John Harwood. Sadly, his eponymous company didn’t survive the Great Depression of 1929 but it forever changed the face of luxury watch making. For anyone intent upon building up a collection of historically important vintage wristwatches, a Harwood is something of a must. The other pioneering self-winding watches are also fascinating things, among them the Autorist, which wound by means of pivoting lugs, the Rolls, inside which the movement literally rolled up and down the case, winding as it went and the wonderfully named Wig Wag. Good, working examples of any of these are very difficult to find and far from cheap, but there can’t be many other vintage wristwatch that are as quirky and as interesting. In many ways, they always seem reminiscent of the bizarre looking very early flying machines that were stepping stones on the way to the Wright brother’s first successful aircraft of 1906.

It would be unthinkable that anyone could thoroughly write an overview of wristwatch development in the 1920s without mentioning the Rolex Oyster. Launched in 1926 as the world’s first reliably waterproof wristwatch, the Rolex Oyster has become the gold standard in vintage wristwatch collecting and remains a design classic to this day. Again, sadly, the mania surrounding old watches in the 1980s led to some superb fakes being produced, many of which have now been accepted into both private collections and dealers’ stock as genuine examples. Really good early Rolex Oysters, and by that we mean those that can be guaranteed as categorically authentic and unmodified, are costly now but are so firmly established as desirable icons that it seems almost inconceivable that they might ever fall in value. Despite the high cost of entry, they should prove to be very good long term investments. Here on this site, we always offer a good selection of pre-1930 vintage Rolex watches for sale, all of which are of the highest possible condition and originality standard and capable of withstanding the closest expert scrutiny at any level.

Rolex ladies 15k gold black starburst boxed 1921

One of the only vintage Rolex watches we have owned in 15 karat gold, this is a very rare and highly desirable item. Boxed and on a matching gold bracelet, it is original and immaculate throughout. A lovely investment piece.

Price £1475 GB Pounds

Omega silver semi-hermetic moistureproof 1921

A stepping stone on the way to the Rolex Oyster of 1926, the semi-hermetic is a historically important model in the quest for water resistance. This Omega version is a beautiful and very rare item in museum standard condition.

Price £1875 GB Pounds

Zenith oval silver 1922

Important as they bridge the evolutionary gap between World War I circular officers’ models and the art deco creations of the late 1920s, these transitional items are very collectible. This one is original and near perfect throughout.

Price £925 GB Pounds

Rolex officer’s with hinged lugs. Late Rebberg 1923

In a large sized case with very eye catching hinged lugs, this is lovely example of the final generation of officers’ watches of the type that had been used in World War I. In superb, all original condition throughout.

Price £2150 GB Pounds

Dunhill London silver tank 1924

Conjuring up romantic images of Pall Mall and early Rolls-Royce motor cars, this classic Dunhill is perfectly representative of luxury vintage wristwatches in the 1920s. It is original throughout and in almost pristine condition.

Price £745 GB Pounds

Dunhill London golf ball hunter 1924

This is an example of the delightfully quirky pieces that were offered by Dunhill to its wealthy upper class clients in the years between the wars. It has enormous character while being of extremely high quality throughout.

Price £725 GB Pounds

Omega pink gold officer’s watch with guilloche dial 1924

With an immaculate original engine turned starburst dial radiating light from the centre point, this watch combines the case style popular in World War I with the glamorous aesthetics of the following decade. A beautiful collector’s item.

Price £1450 GB Pounds

Tiffany & Co 18k sapphire diamond ladies London 1925

From the roaring twenties, this fabulous Tiffany & Co is the perfect representative sample of the luxurious art deco models for ladies that were created by this famous high society jeweller at the time. Few vintage ladies watch are more evocative.

Price £1675 GB Pounds

Longines silver semi-hunter with Mappin & Webb dial 1925

In a beautiful World War I style, this lovely vintage Longines semi-hunter was ironically produced seven years after the conflict ended. In immaculate condition, this piece remains original and correct in every detail.

Price £1675 GB Pounds

Longines 18k gold Borgel case moisture proof 1926

In an exotic 18 karat case and with a movement that has been finished to a standard far in excess of the norm, this is one of the most exceptional vintage Longines watches that we have owned in some years. A rare collector’s piece.

Price £1775 GB Pounds
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