During a period in which the vintage watch market is driven largely by fashion, and nearly everyone has access to electronic devices for accurate time reference, it is easy to forget how important precision timing of mechanical watches was during the post-war era of the 20th century. And it is no coincidence that the same period is widely considered by serious collectors to have been the Golden Age of watchmaking, as remarkable achievements of precision intersected with fine finishing (often done by hand), and classic designs.

Like many 'old-school' collectors, I became interested in chronometres, and their importance in terms of marketing, long ago. I have owned more than a few over the years, some rare, and some not. Most were wristwatches, but a few were pocket watches, deck watches, and special dealer display clocks. I have delved into the differences between various calibers, and researched the Observatory trials for another Longines article that I published some years ago. But it wasn’t until I obtained the subject pocket watch that I peeled back yet another layer, and learned about one of a small number of men who were so instrumental in the success of manufacturers such as Longines – the precision timers.


You Make Your Own Luck

I am a big believer in the above expression, in the sense that one’s actions play a big role in creating opportunities to experience luck. So, within the context of vintage watch collecting, that could mean getting out from behind the computer screen and visiting a local flea market, or pawn shop, or in my case, as I am located in Europe, visiting watch “fairs” on occasion, as there is always the possibility of finding something fresh to market, or unusual.

Not so long ago I was perusing tables at a fair in Switzerland, and a pocket watch caught my eye. This is a bit unusual in itself, as I own very few pocket watches, especially in relation to the number of wristwatches that I own. But in this instance I liked the style of the dial, it was a Longines, and also a center-second variety. The latter is uncommon, as the vast majority of pocket watches utilized sub-second movements and dials.

The dial, while simple, is very attractive to my eye, and some would characterize it as “military style”, or “technical”. The hands are blued steel, and the stainless steel case measures 50mm in diameter.



When I enquired about the watch, the dealer (and watchmaker), who is well-known, and his knowledge highly regarded, became slightly animated, and began to tell me how unusual it was. He spoke briefly about the caliber, which I didn’t immediately recognize, and then added something about someone who had worked at Longines, which, for some reason, I basically ignored.

When he popped open the case I was immediately attracted to the movement design, and it appeared to be in mint condition. My enthusiasm waned briefly after the dealer told me the price that he wanted for the watch, but my resistance wore down over the next hour or so, and I bought it.




An Exclusive Caliber, and a Mystery Unfolds

Upon returning to my home, I began to do some research. The movement is a cal. 37.9 S, and there is surprisingly little related information available online. Note that there are plenty of examples of pocket watches with cal. 37.9 movements, but precious few watches of any kind with the “S” variant. I knew that they had been used in the exclusive, low production series of watches that Longines manufactured for SWISSAIR pilots in the 1950s, but that was about it. So I sent a formal enquiry to Longines about the watch, in hopes that the response would shed further light on the topic.

Jennifer Bochud of Longines’ Heritage department was again invaluable in providing information, and this article could not have been written without her help. However, her initial response was, in one important respect, different from the many that I had previously received from her. She reported that there was no record of the specific watch in the Longines archives, suggesting that it had never been sold! This was a surprise, of course, but I was not discouraged, as there must have been some explanation.

Ms. Bochud further informed me that there was a reference to the movement, "24h en 1 tour”, which means that a 24 hour dial would have normally been used, as they were on the SWISSAIR watches. Furthermore, she mentioned that the previous two serial numbers in the archives both corresponded to SWISSAIR watches.

While the mystery of the origin of my specific watch remained for the moment, I learned more about the 37.9 S caliber, thanks again, in large part, to Ms. Bochud. The caliber was derived from the cal. 37.9, which in turn was derived from the cal. 17.68NZ. All three of those calibers are 37.9mm in diameter, but the 37.9 S, being an indirect central-second variant, is of course thicker. It also has a hacking function, which is consistent with watches used primarily for technical purposes.

More interesting yet, the 37.9 S was apparently used in only three references:

– the Swissair watches, bearing the reference 6630, and produced in 1954

– a version of the iconic Weems, bearing the reference 4356, and produced in 1957

– a pocket watch, bearing the reference 6295, and produced in 1951

***

The SWISSAIR watches are truly extraordinary. There were apparently less than 100 produced, and they measure 47mm excluding the large onion crown. This particular example sold in a PHILLIPS Auction in October of 2017, and brought a final bid of $75,000. Interestingly, the movement is only two digits lower than the one found in the subject pocket watch!




image source: PHILLIPS

Here is an example of the Weems reference, with an enamel dial, sold through the same auction as the above watch, and for $47,000.




image source: PHILLIPS

The serial number of the above Weems movement is quite a bit lower than the SWISSAIR watches, which makes sense given that it was cased and sold at least six years earlier. However, it is also noted as having a cal. 37.9, which is obviously not the same as the much more common, sub-second, pocket watch version. There are a few other references to early Weems with this movement, as well as the exceedingly rare Siderograph wristwatch model, an example of which is shown below.


image source: acollectedman.com

Allow me to veer off, briefly, on a pedantic tangent. Piecing the available information together, I believe that these calibers should be identified as 37.9 N, rather than 37.9. My deduction comes first from an obvious point, which is that it would have been quite odd for Longines to have created a central second variation of the (pocket watch) cal. 37.9, and then use exactly the same designation. A further clue, which I happened to stumble across while researching this article, was provided by Ms. Bochud’s predecessor at Longines, Raymond Krebs, who wrote the following in response to an otherwise unrelated enquiry back in 2005:

What I am inclined to infer from this is that the 37.9 N was a “new execution” of the (sub-second) 37.9, and was used in the Siderograph, as well as some of the early Lindbergh Angle Hour watches. I say “some” because the very first version was apparently powered by a rather different caliber, the 18.69N. Here is an example:



To be clear, I do believe that Longines has “37.9” noted in the archives relating to some of these early, specialized pilot’s watches. But I have now found confirmation from Longines, courtesy of Ms. Bochud, and from the company's own literature, that in 1940, the cal. 37.9 N was developed "based on the construction from principles applied for the 37.96 , it was a variant with centre seconds. This modification required components that were specifically adapted to the centre seconds mechanism (upper third wheel bush, upper contrite wheel bush, lower contrate wheel bush, jewelled plate, plate screw, intermediate wheel with cannon-pinion, third wheel, contrate wheel, cannon-pinion, friction-spring screw, friction-spring, cannon-wheel, centre axis7) and led to slight structural modifications, notably through the addition of a bridge that was screwed on to the barrel bridge."

I believe that it is also reasonable to infer that the 37.9 S, used in the later references, was a hacking version of the same 37.9 N, and that the “S” may well have been used to designate that “stop-second” function.

As rare as the two wristwatch references powered by the cal. 37.9 S appear to be, the pocket watch reference seems to be even more elusive. Which bring me back to the mystery of the origin of the subject watch. As I began to think about how such a watch could have appeared without ever having been sold, I remembered the original reference made by the dealer, that I had ignored at the time. So I contacted him, and the information that he provided solved the mystery, and also paved the way to a deeper appreciation of the “precision timers” referenced in the title, and at the beginning of the article.


Frank Vaucher, Longines’ Prince of Precision


image source: cejar.ch

The dealer told me that he had purchased the watch from the estate of Frank Vaucher, shown above at his bench, and that he had been a very important and successful precision timer for Longines. As further research soon revealed, he wasn’t exaggerating.

In an extensive article published in the Swiss Journal L’Impartial (30 November, 2002, pp 61-70), entitled At the Time of the Princes of the Precision, Françoise Kuenzi wrote the following (mostly machine translated):

Kuenzi goes on to summarize the early history of such contests:

Fast forward to the 20th century, and Kuenzi continues:

French speakers can read the full article here: http://doc.rero.ch/record/114843?ln=frl

Some examples of Vaucher's (and Wenger's) successes, in this case with the cal. 30B:




The Management Told Us: It is Very Nice, a Prize, But We Need Records!

Kuenzi was also responsible for an interesting interview with Vaucher, whose comments are italicized:

"I had entered the Longines to stay one winter, and I stayed 46 years and two days…

"Precision tuner, "prince" of watchmaking, as we called in manufactures these men who spent months, looking at balance-wheels and hairsprings, to approach perfection, Frank Vaucher is nonetheless modest. He prefers to evoke, with a smile, the successes of others. His? They are nevertheless numerous: the citizen of Cormoret appears as early as the end of the fifties in the first places of the competitions of the Observatory of Neuchâtel, accumulating some 25 series prizes, the most prestigious, between 1956 and 1967. But more than the prizes, it was the records that counted, remembers the watchmaker. The management told us: it is very nice, a prize, but we need records!

"Precision tuning, Frank Vaucher came through timing. It must be remembered that Longines was timing a large number of events in Switzerland and around the world. Also, the precision adjusters were primarily responsible for controlling the chronometers lent every weekend for sports events and returning to Saint-Imier on Monday. They had to be prepared for the next competition. The team of precision adjusters - then composed of Robert Chopard and Fernand Wenger, two adjusters at the top of their craft - could no longer assume, in addition to this task, that of preparing pieces for the competitions of the Observatory. Frank Vaucher then joined the Longines shock duo, and that's how I got into the fine tuning.

"The competitions, Longines participated above all to prove the reliability of the parts used during competitions and scientific expeditions. The commercial interest gained importance over the years. At the Squaw Valley Winter Olympics in 1960, we had to supply 120 chronometers that had passed the Observatory competition. The organizers could not have been satisfied with the newsletter of a control office? It was out of the question: they wanted the newsletter of the Observatory, and not another ...

"But the end of the end, in the field, was the wristwatch. In the thirties, manufacturers launched the first models, and the commercial boom was rapid. After the Second World War, the Observatory commission added a category to these small calibres, whose accuracy was worse than the pocket chronometers, but which were much more popular. And they were always smaller, which cost Longines the first places, remembers Frank Vaucher. We had a good 34mm caliber, but when we had to go down to 30mm, it was more difficult."

[I’d like to interject that Vaucher’s insights dovetail very nicely with the previous Longines article that I published. In that chronometre-centric piece, I noted how Longines had dominated the Neuchâtel Observatory trials with their large, 34mm movements during the 1940s, but then suddenly dropped from contention when, In 1948, the Swiss Observatories imposed a new limit of 30mm in the wrist chronometer category. Readers interested in further detail can find the previous article here: https://omegaforums.net/threads/lady-luck-delivers-an-early-longines-chronometre.11157/ ]

Kuenzi’s interview with Vaucher continues:

"Competitors were not numerous: thirty precision adjusters, attached to a handful of companies, shared the classification. We were competitors, and there was some enmity between us, but we were also friends. Charles Thomann, in his book "The dignitaries of watchmaking", perfectly knew how to revive the atmosphere that prevailed during the competitions of the Observatory. Or rather, during the announcement of the results, which was held every year at the Château de Neuchâtel in mid-February. You had to see the constipated faces of the adjusters, laughs Frank Vaucher showing a picture of austere gentlemen in costume installed in the hall of the Cantonal Court. Because if we knew our own results, we did not know anything about the performance of other timer. The battles, then, were noble: I had once deposited a [movement] in Geneva. Seeing that I was trying to beat him on his own ground, Vacheron timer Urbain Brahier decided to do the same in Neuchâtel. I got 2.71, him 2.70. At the proclamation of the results, in the hall, I heard a big "Ohhhh!"

The year 1968 and the advent of the quartz watch sounded the death knell of the Observatory's competitions. Frank Vaucher has no regrets: Even when Longines has ceased to be a factory, I have always been offered varied and interesting work."

For French speakers, here is a link to the original language interview:

https://www.iro.umontreal.ca/~vaucher/Genealogy/Documents/FrankVaucher.html

***

As suggested above, Voucher compiled an extremely impressive record while working for Longines. In fact, "between 1955 and 1969, he obtained more than 250 awards and records from Neuchâtel Observatory for the watches he timed. In 1966, he even set a 'world record' with a mark of 1.72 in the category of pocket chronometers, which remains unbeaten to this day [in 2014, when the source material was published]."

In 1972, when the Quartz revolution had rendered the precision timers irrelevant, Vaucher "took up a research role at Longines and moved subsequently to Special Fittings, before finally joining the firm’s Design department." He also became involved in developing some novel solutions for Longines, and was awarded several patents. Here is one interesting example:

and an image of the first page of one of Vaucher’s patents:




Vaucher certainly had the pedigree to be mechanically inclined, as the history behind the current Vaucher Manufacture Fleurier attests. You can delve into his interesting family background in this pdf file:

http://www.vauchermanufacture.ch/uploads/VM_FICHE_HISTORIQUE_EN.pdf

Another interesting footnote is that Vaucher's family bequeathed his archives to the Jura Archive and Economic Research Centre (CEJARE) in Saint-Imier. I sourced some details quoted above from this material, and you can learn more about it here:

http://www.fhs.swiss/eng/2014_11_27_chronometrier_cejare.html

***

Well, we are nearing the end of this rather long, meandering, but I hope at least somewhat interesting path down which the subject pocket watch has taken me, and now you. So here, in summary, are my conclusions.

The cal. 37.9 S was clearly an extremely low production caliber. It was reserved for technical watches, and primarily designed for use by pilots. Very few such watches have appeared in the marketplace, and they are obviously valued highly by collectors. The caliber, along with its very similar predecessor, the 37.9 N, are among Longines' most important, as, coupled with their exclusivity, they tie together at least several of the manufacturer's most iconic, specialized watches, including the Lindbergh Hour Angle, Siderograph, oversized Weems, and SWISSAIR series.

I have no doubt that the subject pocket watch was, in fact, owned by Frank Vaucher, as its provenance has no gaps, and the evidence is fully supportive. I would venture to speculate, though, that he built the watch simply for his own pleasure and personal use, and not as some form of prototype or formal project. It is truly a unique watch, with a very close connection to a particularly important member of the Longines family.

Finally, and most importantly, the whole experience reaffirms yet again just how interesting and exciting vintage watch collecting can be, given just a touch of luck!

 

You really made some good luck for yourself the day you went to that fair. Congratulations on that find, and thanks for taking the time to write up your research. Very interesting reading.

 

Thanks for the fantastic research and article, Tony. I am impressed by your intuition to buy the watch. I would be curious to see an image of the archive at the serial number of this piece.

I had not previously noticed that the Swissair movements have flat hairsprings. It almost looks like a round stud in a triangular hole. I notice that the markings on the balance cock of your watch are not gold-toned. Not sure if this of any significance. To clarify, is the movement in your pocket watch 24h? The dial reminds me of this:

 

Honored to have seen and read about your beautiful pocket watch.

 

I am both pleased and relieved that this particular nondescript treasure has ended up in the hands of someone who can truly appreciate it, and then tell us about it in such an engaging way. Thank you for that.

 

Thank you. The dials surely are similar, but while the movements also appear to be similar, Ms. Bochud stated clearly that the 19.70 is unrelated to the 37.9 family.

I think that I may have caused confusion with the 24hr reference. My pocket watch operates as a normal watch would, aside from the hacking function. I don't know if Ms. Bochud meant to imply that all of the pocket watches sold with the 37.9 S were designed to be true 24hr watches, or if they simply had indexes extending from 13-24 as well.

UPDATE: Here is an example from the archives that she sent to me, so they were not necessarily 24hr dials:

 

Tony,

Thanks for sharing your incredible visit with ‘Lady Luck’!

Had it been any other brand, your task would have been nearly impossible without the aid of Ms. Bochud and Mr. Krebs. We are so fortunate to have had (and still have) these invaluable resource persons at our disposal; but then, your persistence in task certainly deserves honorable mention!

It’s a great looking little pocket watch as well...

Congratulations...

Doug

 

Thank you, Doug. And you are absolutely correct! It would be so much more difficult to research these kind of articles without the generous support of someone like Ms. Bochud.

Thank you for your kind words!

Thanks Dan – much appreciated!

Thank you, David!

 

Detailed, thoughtful and scholarly posts like this remind me why this forum is just so damn cool. Thanks @Tony C. !!

 

In addition to being thorough in your research, you write very well. Thank you for sharing this!

 

Wonderful chapter you have contributed to the history of precision timekeeping Tony, again.

It would be great to have all of your writings on chronometers and chronometry from the various fora here at OF for those who haven’t read them.

 

Fascinating read. Thank you for this!

 

Wow Tony, your eye for these incredible pieces and your excellent writing style truly elevate the content on this forum. I'll echo what another member above said in saying that I'm glad this bit of "luck" fell into the right hands. Thank you for taking the time to really dig into the topic and sharing this!

 

Great article and research! Here is (without comparison) a 37.9 with sweep
second found in a display piece.

Not mine unfortunately....

 

<<A quick note to mention that I have made a couple of small changes and additions to the article. Just a bit of polishing.>>

***

Thank you!

Thank you, @Rman !

Thanks @Andy K ! Much appreciated.

Thank you for your kind words, @adi4 !

Thanks very much @NT931 !

Thank you, @Radiumpassion . That is an incredible display piece! Wow! And it does add to the research, as it is literally a 37.9 with a center-second modification, but not the 37.9 N

 

Another amazing article Tony. It's always a pleasure to read them and to learn. I'm glad to see that you're back at it.

 

What a write up!

 

Thanks for posting! Much appreciated!!

 

Inspiring, and very well written too, as others have said
Thanks for sharing all this research.