I think I recently entered a new phase of collecting. Up until now I only bought complete watches in as close to original condition as possible. I never bought a watch just for a part or parts, or bought one component of a watch in hopes of finding the rest later on. I love browsing old ads and catalogs looking for unusual pieces that catch my eye. This black dialed, square cased piece below jumped out to me the first time I saw it in a 1949 French catalog. I never saw anything quite like it. Later I found a similar piece in an ad from 1943. Still no information, just a picture. I know of some closely related examples like the one below circa 1941 with a 23m movement and 25.5 mm case. It recently sold on ebay for about $400 USD.Purchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network Very nice, but still not the black dialed version I love. More recently, I saw a black dial pop up on eBay by itself for a very reasonable price. There was a picture of the front and back with its approximate size. I had no idea how or where I would find the rest of the pieces needed to complete it, but I felt sure I had to have it. I wasn't even 100% sure it was original. When it arrived today, I was impressed. There's a wonderful contrast between the matte and glossy components of the dial. The "swiss" seems odd and the subdial looks just a hair off, but I'm no expert. It measures 22 x 22 mm with two posts on the back spanning approximately 21 mm. The center and subsecond holes are approximately 6.5 mm apart. The back is numbered 1983 3. That's everything I know so far and I assume now comes the much harder part. I would imagine a proper case would be around 25 to 27 mm in width in steel or gold. The dial size and feet placement seems to coincide with a 23M or 22L movement. For hands, I think I'm looking for gold in baton, feuille, or plume style. Very curious and excited to hear what others think. Does anyone have/know of a compete example? Did I jump to quickly and buy a refinished dial? If not, what should I be looking for to complete this watch? Also, does the dial number come from a system similar to the order and case numbers we see on casebacks from this era? Either way, this feels like a whole new world of collecting for me . . .
Gorgeous ads.. gorgeous watches in the ads.... a great looking dial and a lot of luck finding one with a refinished dial.. just like fishing.. will be beautiful if you can complete the project..good luck
my apologies.. I think your dial is original and wish you luck finding the right model watch (that has a bad or redial) so that you can use your dial to finish your project...