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American Longines 1949

  1. LaCordobesa

    LaCordobesa Mar 26, 2019

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    Hello,
    I love vintage Longines, this is my first "American" Longines.
    The Extract from the Archives says that the movement is correct, the watch is all legit etcetera, but also says that the case and other components were made in the local market. From my little experience I can say that local cases look pretty different than this and that my looks much more as a standard swiss Longines Efco case.
    What do you think about this?
    I'm happy to learn,
    Thank you.
     
    s-l1600 (7).jpg s-l1600 (8).jpg s-l1600 (6).jpg s-l1600.jpg
  2. gatorcpa Ω 2

    gatorcpa ΩF InvestiGator Staff Member Mar 26, 2019

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    Steel cased Longines imported to the US at that time generally had Swiss made cases, since there was little to no customs duty placed on them. It is also possible that the entire watch was cased in Switzerland and imported whole, since I do not see the “LXW” import code on the movement.

    The archivist at Longines probably saw “USA” in the records and assumed that the movement was sent separately, as was the usual practice in the 1940’s.

    The dial looks like a modern repaint. It does not match the rest of the watch.

    Hope this helps,
    gatorcpa
     
  3. LaCordobesa

    LaCordobesa Mar 27, 2019

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    Thank you!
    I wrote back to Longines saying them what you told, and they changed their mind, now they still say that the movement is for USA but they admit the case is Swiss. A bit of confusion in St. Imier.