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Pascal S
·From my years as a kid, I had vague recollections of seeing my dad wear an old gold watch on a few occasions. I didn't really remember much from it, except that it has a squarish case and looked quite ugly to me at the time.
Fast forward almost half a century, and I now know a lot more about what I saw back then. In fact, my mom recently made me the custodian of this watch. It turns out that it was not originally my dad's but his father's, my grandfather who had died long before I was born. My dad inherited it, and wore it only on special occasions. And when he passed away 20 years ago, my mom put this watch and a few others in a bank safe where it remained until earlier this month. Even though unstoppable as she ever was, my mom is now almost 89 years old, and she wanted me to get some of the things in that safe, this watch (and a couple of others) included.
Now, it's time for a proper introduction. It's a Delbana, a brand I'm hardly familiar with, and design-wise I suspect it is from the mid-1950s. In fact, when I was given it, I knew that its particular shape had a specific name, one I had to google to remember: Cioccolatone. Basically, it's Italian for the little chocolate square you sometime get with your espresso coffee. Looking at the case shape, I understand the connection. Apparently, prestigious brands such as Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet released similar models. I can also tell you that this Delbana has automatic movement as I can hear its rotor inside the case. On the other hand, the watch is currently unresponsive, so it'll have to be serviced.
It is currently mounted on a solid gold bracelet which is way too short for my mammoth wrist. My goal was initially to remove it and install this watch on a crocodile strap, as I've seen a few pictures of similar watches mounted on leather and liked the effect. Unfortunately, the bars seem to be fixed on the lugs, and one of them actually looks like a rather crude repair. So it's very possible that my watchmaker will end up horrified.
Since I know very little about this watch or the brand that made it, I would be very grateful if any of you had any information to share based on the few pictures below.
Fast forward almost half a century, and I now know a lot more about what I saw back then. In fact, my mom recently made me the custodian of this watch. It turns out that it was not originally my dad's but his father's, my grandfather who had died long before I was born. My dad inherited it, and wore it only on special occasions. And when he passed away 20 years ago, my mom put this watch and a few others in a bank safe where it remained until earlier this month. Even though unstoppable as she ever was, my mom is now almost 89 years old, and she wanted me to get some of the things in that safe, this watch (and a couple of others) included.
Now, it's time for a proper introduction. It's a Delbana, a brand I'm hardly familiar with, and design-wise I suspect it is from the mid-1950s. In fact, when I was given it, I knew that its particular shape had a specific name, one I had to google to remember: Cioccolatone. Basically, it's Italian for the little chocolate square you sometime get with your espresso coffee. Looking at the case shape, I understand the connection. Apparently, prestigious brands such as Vacheron Constantin or Audemars Piguet released similar models. I can also tell you that this Delbana has automatic movement as I can hear its rotor inside the case. On the other hand, the watch is currently unresponsive, so it'll have to be serviced.
It is currently mounted on a solid gold bracelet which is way too short for my mammoth wrist. My goal was initially to remove it and install this watch on a crocodile strap, as I've seen a few pictures of similar watches mounted on leather and liked the effect. Unfortunately, the bars seem to be fixed on the lugs, and one of them actually looks like a rather crude repair. So it's very possible that my watchmaker will end up horrified.
Since I know very little about this watch or the brand that made it, I would be very grateful if any of you had any information to share based on the few pictures below.
