Live Auction 1417Rare Watches Including Nautilus 40 Part II
Longines. A very rare and unusual stainless steel single button flyback chronograph wristwatch with black lacquer dial and central minute register
Lot 309

Longines. A very rare and unusual stainless steel single button flyback chronograph wristwatch with black lacquer dial and central minute register

Signed Longines, Brevet, Ref. 5681, movement no. 6'984'287, case order no. 23074-105, manufactured in 1946

Closed14 November 2016

Price Realised

CHF 30,000

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Longines. A very rare and unusual stainless steel single button flyback chronograph wristwatch with black lacquer dial and central minute register

Signed Longines, Brevet, Ref. 5681, movement no. 6'984'287, case order no. 23074-105, manufactured in 1946
MOVEMENT: manual, cal. 12.68Z stop second, 17 jewels
DIAL: black lacquer, luminous Arabic numerals, luminous hands, outer ring calibrated for 60 minutes register with central red hand, engine-turned subsidiary seconds
CASE: stainless steel, stepped bezel, snap on back, fly-back chronograph mechanism operated through a round button in the band, 37.5 mm. diam
SIGNED: case, dial and movement
ACCOMPANIED BY: Longines Extract from the Archives confirming the sale of the present watch on 7 December 1946 to the Company Weil, the manufacture agent for Chile at the time.

Specialist note

The present watch is a very rare and attractive version of one of Longines’ legendary chronograph wristwatches. The breveted calibre 12.68 Z stop second features the flyback system which works as a reset function without the need to first stop the chronograph. The central minute register is replacing the usual small subsidiary chronograph counter, the red hand lighting up the dial by its bright and flamboyant colour.

The combination of the unusual and legendary calibre 12.68 Z stop second movement, the exceptionally beautiful original black dial and the excellent overall condition of the case render this watch an exceedingly rare trophy.

A similar watch bearing case order no. 23074-111 is illustrated in Longines Watches, by John Goldberger, pp. 142-143.