1948/1949 9ct gold (hallmarked for Birmingham, date letter Y), Cortebert dress watch, with a high grade cal 665 movement. The movement is only 15 jewels but the finish is lovely with gold chatons surrounding the jewels and an underslung mainspring barrel. A beautiful, smaller dress watch from the post war period.
Dial:
The dial is in good, original condition. It is a Light cream tone.
It is signed with the Cortebert name at 12 o'clock. with Swiss made at 6 o clock.
The hours are indicated by clear Arabic numerals which are applied golden numerals, as opposed to being painted on.
The minute track is clear and indicated the hours with a thicker black baton on every hour.
There is a sub-second dial which is very clear and quite large for a typical sub-second dial.
There is a light red, oxidisation tone speckled in the middle of the dial, as visible in pictures, that is likely due to the reaction between the metal in the movement and the back of the dial over time. The patina would be described as having the ideal "Wabi-Sabi", with the imperfection being appealing, and reminding you of the watches age, without being considered damage. The surface of the dial is still good.
Hands:
The hands are un-bent and un-corroded. They are thermally blued and are original, fitting the margins of the watch well. The baton hands are incredibly slim and classy.
Glass:
The Plexi-glass crystal is in good condition with some surface scratches to the edge.
Crown:
The crown is original and has a beautiful coin edge, fitting flush to the case. There is evidence of some wear of the gold plate colouration on the crown.
Case:
The case is in strong condition with only light surface scratches that are consistent with age. There are some deeper marks along with a slight marking where the case back meets the case. This is normal for gold cases as they are soft. A nice original case that hasn't been polished. The right hand (crown side) of the watch seems to have some dimple like marking on the lugs, please see images. These don't distract from the watches appeal, but are worth noting.
Case back:
Strong condition with multiple light surface scratches, but no dents or gouges.
Lugs:
The lugs have some dimple marking on the crown side.
Strap:
The watches strap is two piece leather strap.
Movement:
The movement is a manual wind Cortebert cal.665 15 jewel movement. The watch runs well, measured on a timegrapher and during daily wear. It gains 125 seconds on average a day, with an amplitude of 341 degrees and a beat error of 0.4 m/s. It has not been serviced due to its strong time keeping on the wrist.
Case Dimensions:Case width: 31mm
Case width with crown: 33.7mm
Case length: 31mm
Case Depth: 10mm
Lug width: 15mm
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£350.00Price
Out of Stock
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