Art deco- watches and beyond

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Picked up this 1937 Bulova "American Clipper" recently....original bracelet....nice original condition all around...36mm lug-to-lug, 25mm wide w/o crown....$33.75 in the day, or around $595.00 in inflation adjusted 2019 dollars.
 
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Ladies two-tone Universal Watch

Stunning! And quintessentially art deco indeed!
 
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AS 1180

That's a very handsome piece. What do you know about "Empire". I have a seven jewel Empire Watch Co. wrist watch that I would estimate being from the early 1930s which is marked Geneve, but have been able to find very little information other than "Empire" was used by Smiths, Omega and Etna (of Geneve) at various times. I am assuming that my Empire is most likely associated with the Etna Watch Co., but I have been unable to identify the movement.

Attached are photos of my Empire, and photos of one of the only other watches I have been able to find having an Empire movement, albeit fifteen jewels rather than seven. That watch is a "lapel" watch identified as a "Paul Vallette" on the dial. Paul Vallette was a name used by the Edouard Heuer watch company, predecessor to Tag Heuer. If you are unfamiliar with a "lapel" watch they are essentially a watch housed in a leather sheath having a leather lanyard with a button on the end. They are worn in the outside breast pocket of a suit jacket with the lanyard button placed through the lapel button hole of the jacket.

Both Paul Vallettes having Empire movements that I have been able to find were gifts from Samuel Goldwyn. The example photo was a gift to C.S. Chaplin....presumably, Charlie Chaplin.
 
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That's a very handsome piece. What do you know about "Empire". I have a seven jewel Empire Watch Co. wrist watch that I would estimate being from the early 1930s which is marked Geneve, but have been able to find very little information other than "Empire" was used by Smiths, Omega and Etna (of Geneve) at various times. I am assuming that my Empire is most likely associated with the Etna Watch Co., but I have been unable to identify the movement.

Attached are photos of my Empire, and photos of one of the only other watches I have been able to find having an Empire movement, albeit fifteen jewels rather than seven. That watch is a "lapel" watch identified as a "Paul Vallette" on the dial. Paul Vallette was a name used by the Edouard Heuer watch company, predecessor to Tag Heuer. If you are unfamiliar with a "lapel" watch they are essentially a watch housed in a leather sheath having a leather lanyard with a button on the end. They are worn in the outside breast pocket of a suit jacket with the lanyard button placed through the lapel button hole of the jacket.

Both Paul Vallettes having Empire movements that I have been able to find were gifts from Samuel Goldwyn. The example photo was a gift to C.S. Chaplin....presumably, Charlie Chaplin.
Love that case
 
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Don't have any additional information on EMPIRE.

Mine has an A. Schild 1180.

 
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Enjoying this art deco sub
A watch that鈥檚 super cool....馃憤
1960s and not art deco, but with those stylized numbers It also looks good in this thread 馃槈
 
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Perhaps falls short of true art deco, but of the period and unusual in case construction. Apparently stamped sheet metal. A low end 25mm Ingraham boy's watch, which surprisingly runs like new after so many decades of neglect and the simplest cleaning and lube.
wide spaces between moving parts prevented serious gumming up.Seems to be a scaled down clock movement.
Band is grey pigskin and far too small for a man's or ladies watch.
The style dates back to the late 1920's or early 30's.
I put it on a cheap black pebble grain band and wear it now and then.

Not a great watch but not bad for $10.
 
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I鈥檓 happy to take the grey pigskin strap off your hands if you cannot use it. I鈥檓 sure I could. 馃槣
How wide and long is it?
I just bought a watch with minuscule lug width (possibly 8mm) but maybe this would be wider?
 
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That little stash of NOS Montal bracelets also has some 11mm ones, but the bracelet itself is so narrow that it鈥檇 be easy to cut the ends down to 8mm.

 
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That little stash of NOS Montal bracelets also has some 11mm ones, but the bracelet itself is so narrow that it鈥檇 be easy to cut the ends down to 8mm.

Ooh.... 馃槣 I really like the first one 馃槈
 
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I鈥檓 happy to take the grey pigskin strap off your hands if you cannot use it. I鈥檓 sure I could. 馃槣
How wide and long is it?
I just bought a watch with minuscule lug width (possibly 8mm) but maybe this would be wider?
This is a 16mm. Unlike the watch head its not in very good shape, needs restitching in places, worn in spots and has a couple of extra holes that look to have been punched by a nail. I never got around to measuring it.

Saw some five piece lots of NOS pigskin bands of similar appearance only tan for sale recently on Ebay, in several different widths and lengths.
I bid on two different lots of 18mm and 16mm bands but was outbid at the last moment.
IIRC they had some black bands and possibly some grey in smaller widths.

I ordered a 8mm calfskin band for my sister's 60's Bulova awhile back so they still make this size.
 
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Ooh.... 馃槣 I really like the first one 馃槈
Only cos it鈥檚 2 quid cheaper than the other one 馃榿
 
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This is a 16mm. Unlike the watch head its not in very good shape, needs restitching in places, worn in spots and has a couple of extra holes that look to have been punched by a nail. I never got around to measuring it.

Saw some five piece lots of NOS pigskin bands of similar appearance only tan for sale recently on Ebay, in several different widths and lengths.
I bid on two different lots of 18mm and 16mm bands but was outbid at the last moment.
IIRC they had some black bands and possibly some grey in smaller widths.

I ordered a 8mm calfskin band for my sister's 60's Bulova awhile back so they still make this size.
Thank you very much! I may have seen some of those lots and indeed some of them are so short that they might be challenging even for me to wear!

Only cos it鈥檚 2 quid cheaper than the other one 馃榿
I'm a low maintenance gal 馃槣
Edited:
 
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Good thread ... here are two monograms from my wife's and my Reversos. One is engraved and black enamel filled 'FD' in art deco style on an 18k pink gold Reverso, the other is engraved letter with floral flourish on a steel model.