38mm Calatrava (Squirrel Bait) Style Longines 23M Arrived

@DirtyDozen12 is probably right as the proportions seem similar to this one, indeed about 32mm which I posted in a previous thread many moons ago.

@Syrte lovely example! What is the lug width on yours?

Thanks for the kind words, Ii’s 15mm with fixed lugs, and alas a bit of a pain to find straps for.

@jankoxxx can make you some custom straps. I have several watches with 17 mm lugs and run into the same problem. 18, 20, 22, no problem, large variety to choose from. Odd-number widths I find easier to go custom.

More importantly, great watch and dibs 🥰.

Thanks for the kind words, and dibs duly noted.
As for the straps, I have thankfully found a great Italian craftsman on the Italian forum, but for this watch have settled on a blue 16mm vintage perlon which I like best.... I find perlon works well with those odd numbers because it's more flexible.

You guys were spot on, 32.33mm. My first salmon dial, absolutely gorgeous. The blued hands really pop against the soft pink. I’m also astonished at how modern looking the design is. Hard to believe Longines produced this in the early 40’s.

Very nice, congrats, and the credit goes to @DirtyDozen12 for having figured out the size.

It's really the other way around; it is astonishing that watches with the same modernist look are still being produced. Firmly in the 1930-40's design language!

Well not so astonishing as “modern” was invented during the interwar. See the early part of the thread.

Haha, “modern” used as a strictly generic reference to the current time period and not as a specific design convention.

I’ll let you guys duke it out over the particulars of aesthetics. My only intention was to highlight that this 75 year old watch feels very current (in no small part due to the popularity of Nomos.)

Gratuitous pics of the OP’s watch, which I bought off @watchknut. Fresh from service a month ago and since been my main wearer at work...

And I just posted the same pics on another Longines thread - sorry! haha

What do you know, I'm now reading this very interesting article indicating the Patek Philippe Calatrava design was inspired from Bauhaus??

However, and as usual with those so called professional watch blogs, they do not indicate whether Patek Philippe is the source of that specific bit of info -- so for all we know they might be rehashing blabla from god knows where on the web -- like a bad forum for example!
Any thoughts or comments from people who might confirm?

Here it is though:
https://monochrome-watches.com/history-of-the-patek-philippe-calatrava-part-1-reference-96/
History of the Patek Philippe Calatrava Part 1 - The Reference 96, The Blueprint- 05/09/2017 | By Tom Mulraney
"Inspired by the Bauhaus principle of form follows function, the minimalist design created by David Penney distilled timekeeping down to its most pure essence. There were no superfluous details, no unnecessary flourishes..... I think it’s helpful to have some understanding of the Bauhaus school itself to fully appreciate the underlying elements that make the original design so ageless....

For a start, the 31mm round shape case reflects the circular form of the movement inside, as well as the passage of time itself. Measuring just 9mm thick, it featured a snap-on back and a flat polished bezel. The lugs meanwhile, rather than being soldered on, were integrated into the three-part case design and tapered to ensure an extremely comfortable fit on the wrist, a classic example of form following function.

[...]What really set the Patek Philippe Calatrava Reference 96 apart, however, was its minimalist, modern dial design. Like the case itself, the dial exemplified the Bauhaus philosophy of form follows function, eschewing the more elaborate designs of the Art Deco era that preceded it. The focus was on indicating the time, and only the time, in the clearest and most attractive way possible."

Photo credit:
"The original drawing of the Patek Philippe Calatrava Reference 96, by David Penney (left) - One the earliest versions of the Reference 96, from the Patek Philippe Museum"

I love gambling on these 30’s-40’s sub-dial Longines. 23m movement. Probably 34-35mm. @Northernman has/had a very similar example.

A little more fuel for this thread. Source MOMA.