1920 Lemania Monopusher Chronograph: ID and Rarity Help

I'd appreciate any information on my circa-1920 Lemania monopusher chronograph. It's been in my family for many years, and I'm considering selling it. I'd be interested in learning more about the reference and rarity.

Valid point. See attached.

Thanks. I did post some pictures and video. Hope that helps.

Thank you. This is a family piece and I'm trying to learn more about it. If anyone familiar with very early Lemania chronographs has thoughts on the movement or can help identify the caliber, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I'm not an expert - just an enthusiast of mid-century Lemania's, specifically the 27mm base calibres of the 1940's and onwards, of which the OP's example is not. Based on the photos of the OP's movement, I would guess this is most similar (but not identical) to a Lemania 13CH. I've read these movements were Lemania's first chronographs designed for wrist watches, and I believe they were mostly produced in the 1930's. I would agree with Cristos71's earlier comment that this movement doesn't have the "look" of 1920's (or earlier) movements, nor does it seem to be large enough (earlier chronograph movements were made for pocket watches, and they were larger).

With that in mind - can you provide measurements of the diameters of the watch and movement, Atlanticfin? If your movement is older and designed for pocket watches then the movement diameter would be roughly 40mm. A movement diameter around 30mm would support my theory of this being a 13CH.

It's also worth noting that the case is 'pocket-watch-esque', particularly in the way the caseback opens and the strap is attached. But, this could simply be stylistic, and not necessarily an indication of it’s age.

Based on all of the above, here are a couple of theories on your watch:

1) it is from the 1920's and it is an early 13CH movement that was fit into a case that was made or adapted to be a wrist-worn chronograph.

2) if the watch is larger than 40mm in diameter it could be from the 1920's and it is likely an adapted pocket watch to which a strap was added, this could also be a 'marriage' watch where a pocket watch movement and dial were re-fit into a wrist watch case.

3) the watch is from roughly 1930 - 1940, this is a period when 13CH movements would have been most common before being replaced by subsequent movement series like the 15TL and eventually the 27CH (neither of which your movement appears to be).

If I had to bet, I'd say option 3 is the most likely. That said, it’s probably just as possible that this watch has a totally different history. The fact that it has been in your family for a long time hopefully means that you may know of other details that fill in some of the assumptions about when it was first acquired and what might have happened to it in the decades since. Any way you slice it - it's a pretty watch, with a nice looking dial and movement in a gold case.

Whether it's from the 1920's or the 1930's or some other decade - it has generations of history as a family heirloom. You can look on eBay and see that watches in the same ballpark as this are listed for thousands of dollars - that doesn’t mean you should expect to get those prices if you sell it, but it hopefully also shows you that your watch has some real value. For me, the family heirloom connection means that it is likely more valuable on a sentimental level than any potential buyer would be willing pay. That said, these are my opinions and highly speculatory. If you do plan to sell, I would suggest bringing the watch to an expert for physical inspection and evaluation.

(Apologies in advance for any errors or omissions - I’m open to corrections and differing opinions)

Woops - should have looked closer at your photos before making a long response. Looks more like a 15TL movement after all, but it's definitely a little different...

Probably means this is mid to late 1930's at the earliest. Still a nice watch; good luck with your sale. 😉

It looks like a late 20's to early 30's Lemania calibre 16 which is a 36mm-ish movement so I'm guessing the watch is 38-40mm+?
Beautiful watch.
I have a few very early Lemania wrist watches and absolutely love them. They are the king of chronographs in my opinion. If nothing else they are the grandfather of all chronograph wristwatches 🤣