This popped up earlier tonight and after some deliberation, fingers crossed, I will receive it sometime next month. I am quite new to Tre Tacches, and willing to learn if I have made any mistakes/overlooked any details. Photos are the seller's.





To my eyes, the dial is a bit dirty and fading, however the Longines font does look correct. The crown is probably an incorrect one, and it looks as though it is a 10.68 fitted into the 32mm case with a spacer. I say that as the seller's description was "32mm ex crown and 34mm with." Stepped bezel and case can be seen. Case appears to be unpolished, particularly the underside. Marks on case and caseback appear to be from use.



The lugs are fixed, and I believe the bottom bar was replaced, though the soldering work appears to have been done well and there is not much, if any, reduction in the lug length. The caseback bears the fabled Tre Tacche notches and has an area of rubbing, suggesting wear with a one piece strap with the caseback locked in a certain position over a time, possibly being a service interval.



The movement number suggests a manufacture date of 1939/40, the last two digits of the serial number on the outside of the caseback are also stamped on the inner caseback, and the Staybrite marker supports the early type. From my limited knowledge, this would suggest a first generation case, especially due to the lack of "fold cracks" in the lugs. There are numerous service marks as well as marks around the inner case and some on the movement.







If it is the 10.68z crammed in the medium size case, I suppose it's somewhat rare. I have contacted Longines for an extract on both movement and case serial and look forward to their response. While this watch is "rough," for the price I got it for it seems to be a decent entry into the market. In the meantime, I'd appreciate any views you may have (and what lessons I need to learn for next time!)

 

Congrats!

At first glance the movement serialnumber seem to match well with the case
batch number

Looking forward to more pictures, and the info from Longines Heritage.

 

How come it is both spring bar and fixed bar? Did you notice that? The top bar is not fixed bar. 12' position...that was the repair?

 

@Seiji I thought the "thicker" bar was a replaced fixed bar, as it looked so secure. It is quite possible it is not soldered and is, as you say, a springbar.

 

In the two photos it looks like the bar turned

 

Fixed. I rotated the photo so that reading the caseback number would be easier.

 

The soldering looks like on inside facing case crown side in one photo, then looks turned on the same bar to crown side outside away from case.

 

Hope this helps. If you have access to a talented watch maked or jeweler. This should be easy to restore with a solid bar of the right kind.

 

3T cases should have flat, stepped bezels (vast majority) and a one piece case plus the back. This looks like a separate bezel. Also, the matching lug number is missing. Crown is incorrect for a 3T but not for a Longines case of the period. Lastly, a 10.68Z is highly unsual in a 3T that is > 31 mm. It looks as though someone has retrofitted a 3T back onto a non-3T case/watch. This watch was on eBay for a long time, I remember seeing it.

 

A first gen. 3T looks like this:

 

@DirtyDozen12 - thanks for the information. I personally only saw it listed last night, and I can now see that it was listed about a month ago as well. Of course, due to eBay's removal of listings 60 days or older, I have no knowing of how long it has been on for.

I compared the watch to one being sold on Chrono24 and thought the bezel was similar.



Now seeing your first gen with lug numbers, that is quite puzzling. Now I can see that the bezel is more curved and not as prominent, especially in this picture.



And I can see that the bezel is not part of the case. Most likely, I have a mashing of parts that has a Tre Tacche look. Despite that, it's somewhat cool, so I will wait for the watch to arrive and also Longines' response. Definitely paying n00b taxes.

 

The example above is a typical 3T case with a flat, stepped bezel. Very different, IMO.

 

Mmm, definitely.

Guess I'll incur @ulackfocus wrath and call this a "Tre Tacche style" watch.

 

I would disagree as the only thing 3T about it is the back, AFAIK.

Edit: I will add that a rare verion of the 3T, with Longines stop-seconds 12.68Z, has a similar bezel. However, these cases retain the usual matching number on the lug and characteristic, thick profile. Images below:

 

Gotcha. I'll cop it on the chin and take it as experience for next time. Thanks @DirtyDozen12

 

Always run your purchase decision by DD. Longines is a mine field.

 

@Larry S - thanks, will definitely do in the future. It's just like UG!

(And I have to set a habit of keeping my impulsiveness in check...)

 

Hi, taking the opportunity to have a check on a 3 tacche I recently bought. According to the guy I bought it from it was in a military bag he bought in a flea market, but he couldn’t remember which army. Could it be military without markings ?
Thank you.
Mounir

 

@omegastar I would ask @DirtyDozen12 or @Syrte their thoughts; from the brief reading I have been doing it's quite possible it was used for military purposes however it would not have been an issue watch. The case is in lovely condition :>

 

Thank you @GuiltyBoomerang , I am sure @DirtyDozen12 will chime in at some point. He already was very knowledgable and helpful on Longines 12.68z calendars.