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Helvetia History
路Thanks for your input. I'll have a play about with the format and see if I can improve it.
New Helvetia Watch Co Site
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Risto
路No problem! With long texts, there's no need to skip to 'read more' links, just have to make content legible. Enough brakes in-between paragraphs help. But, if the Wix is not flexible enough, still a good site.
Content is the king, we say.
Content is the king, we say.
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Waltesefalcon
路Cool website! Kudos to you for making it.
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Mitka
路Just got my cal 75A back together!
I have added a link to the service馃槈 https://mitka.co.uk/2019/04/24/service-restoration-helvetia-calibre-75a/
I have added a link to the service馃槈 https://mitka.co.uk/2019/04/24/service-restoration-helvetia-calibre-75a/
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Helvetia History
路Just got my cal 75A back together!
I have added a link to the service馃槈 https://mitka.co.uk/2019/04/24/service-restoration-helvetia-calibre-75a/
Very nice Mitka. I have a 75a that I need to get running.
I have been doing some research into the Helvetia large date watches with the 75a movement and have proved, I think, that the other large date watches that were around at this time and some supposedly pre-dating the Helvetia version all use Helvetia movements, so it looks like they were the innovators (again). I might post a new thread on it.
Thanks. Carl.
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Helvetia History
路Hello,
I have some of these cases and also an original watch with the same case with 75 years of genuine wear. The cases are exactly the same. The new old stock cases came wrapped in old paper and they have a gasket in the stem made of a rubbery material which has decayed with age and become sticky. I am 100% sure the cases are of the same age as the watches and are from the 1940s. New old stock watch cases are not that unusual.
Whether you believe they were issued to the German Military is a different question. As per the website I believe that they were part of an order that was never supplied but some of the cases were made up into complete watches at the end of the war for sale to the civilian market. They may not have even been originally made for Helvetia as only the ones made into watches bear the Helvetia case number 3199 and they have different movement holders and crowns. Perhaps at the end of the war Helvetia got a deal on some surplus cases from a case manufacturer.
They are all marked with serial numbers beginning DI and ending H, German military watches are known to have a D at the beginning of their serial numbers and often end in H depending on which branch of the military they were made for. So if this was a cancelled contract this fact and the fact that they appear to be from the immediate post war period would seem to make a German Military connection a good bet but no one can be sure. Most people seem put off by the style of lettering saying 'it can't be German Military looking like that', but the case maker marked the cases not the end customer and a case maker definitely was marking cases like this as you can see. It's better to look at the evidence than go with someones feelings. If anything the end of the war would be more likely to see cancelled contracts and spare parts available than any other time so while some could have been used I don't think it's a surprise that there were more that remained wrapped in their boxes for years.
I have laid out all the info I know on the site, I would be interested in others opinions.
Here are a couple of pics:
Thanks.
Carl
I have some of these cases and also an original watch with the same case with 75 years of genuine wear. The cases are exactly the same. The new old stock cases came wrapped in old paper and they have a gasket in the stem made of a rubbery material which has decayed with age and become sticky. I am 100% sure the cases are of the same age as the watches and are from the 1940s. New old stock watch cases are not that unusual.
Whether you believe they were issued to the German Military is a different question. As per the website I believe that they were part of an order that was never supplied but some of the cases were made up into complete watches at the end of the war for sale to the civilian market. They may not have even been originally made for Helvetia as only the ones made into watches bear the Helvetia case number 3199 and they have different movement holders and crowns. Perhaps at the end of the war Helvetia got a deal on some surplus cases from a case manufacturer.
They are all marked with serial numbers beginning DI and ending H, German military watches are known to have a D at the beginning of their serial numbers and often end in H depending on which branch of the military they were made for. So if this was a cancelled contract this fact and the fact that they appear to be from the immediate post war period would seem to make a German Military connection a good bet but no one can be sure. Most people seem put off by the style of lettering saying 'it can't be German Military looking like that', but the case maker marked the cases not the end customer and a case maker definitely was marking cases like this as you can see. It's better to look at the evidence than go with someones feelings. If anything the end of the war would be more likely to see cancelled contracts and spare parts available than any other time so while some could have been used I don't think it's a surprise that there were more that remained wrapped in their boxes for years.
I have laid out all the info I know on the site, I would be interested in others opinions.
Here are a couple of pics:
Thanks.
Carl
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Helvetia History
路
Hello again,
I noticed a referral to my site from the German242 forum and had a look and can see you are asking and arguing about these cases there.
There are always people that say these are complete fakes and that these markings are added to try to cash in.
There is no doubt at all that there are watches that are 75 years old that are marked in this way, no doubt at all. I have recorded about 40 of them and from the style, movements, inscriptions, condition etc. they date from the late 1940s at the latest. They tend to sell for around 拢50 no-one is cashing in on these.
People arguing about why they are not in books and why have they only just appeared just means these people haven't seen them before. They have been around but people have not been interested in them.
The new old stock cases also make people suspect these watches, they decide the NOS cases are fakes and think that all the watches in these cases are fake. Owning several of these cases and watches I can say that I am 99% sure the cases are original 75 year old NOS cases. There is quite a few NOS Helvetia parts around, I think when the factory closed they sold off a lot of old stock.
The big questions are what do these markings mean and were they ever military watches. From all the evidence they seem to have been made into watches immediately post war and from the type of markings I think there is a good chance the cases were originally for military use and probably by Germany. I don't think they were ever delivered though and were made into watches to be sold to the civilian market.
Honestly what are the chances of someone deciding to fake some military watches but using DIH instead of DH, using a lot of civilian style dials as well as military ones, only using only a small range of Helvetia dials and movements and marking them all correctly for Helvetia watches of the period, ageing them incredibly convincingly and then selling them in UK car boot sales and Ebay for less than 拢50. Pretty rubbish fakers if so!
If these watches just had a normal serial number instead of a DIH one there would be absolutely no doubt to anyone that they are vintage. Some people just can't seem to see sense where these things are concerned.
Have a look here at all the evidence: https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/german-military-dih-watches
Thanks. Carl.
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Graf Lagunovi
路Hello again,
I noticed a referral to my site from the German242 forum and had a look and can see you are asking and arguing about these cases there.
There are always people that say these are complete fakes and that these markings are added to try to cash in.
There is no doubt at all that there are watches that are 75 years old that are marked in this way, no doubt at all. I have recorded about 40 of them and from the style, movements, inscriptions, condition etc. they date from the late 1940s at the latest. They tend to sell for around 拢50 no-one is cashing in on these.
People arguing about why they are not in books and why have they only just appeared just means these people haven't seen them before. They have been around but people have not been interested in them.
The new old stock cases also make people suspect these watches, they decide the NOS cases are fakes and think that all the watches in these cases are fake. Owning several of these cases and watches I can say that I am 99% sure the cases are original 75 year old NOS cases. There is quite a few NOS Helvetia parts around, I think when the factory closed they sold off a lot of old stock.
The big questions are what do these markings mean and were they ever military watches. From all the evidence they seem to have been made into watches immediately post war and from the type of markings I think there is a good chance the cases were originally for military use and probably by Germany. I don't think they were ever delivered though and were made into watches to be sold to the civilian market.
Honestly what are the chances of someone deciding to fake some military watches but using DIH instead of DH, using a lot of civilian style dials as well as military ones, only using only a small range of Helvetia dials and movements and marking them all correctly for Helvetia watches of the period, ageing them incredibly convincingly and then selling them in UK car boot sales and Ebay for less than 拢50. Pretty rubbish fakers if so!
If these watches just had a normal serial number instead of a DIH one there would be absolutely no doubt to anyone that they are vintage. Some people just can't seem to see sense where these things are concerned.
Have a look here at all the evidence: https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/german-military-dih-watches
Thanks. Carl.
- Posts
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- 64
Graf Lagunovi
路Hello again,
I noticed a referral to my site from the German242 forum and had a look and can see you are asking and arguing about these cases there.
There are always people that say these are complete fakes and that these markings are added to try to cash in.
There is no doubt at all that there are watches that are 75 years old that are marked in this way, no doubt at all. I have recorded about 40 of them and from the style, movements, inscriptions, condition etc. they date from the late 1940s at the latest. They tend to sell for around 拢50 no-one is cashing in on these.
People arguing about why they are not in books and why have they only just appeared just means these people haven't seen them before. They have been around but people have not been interested in them.
The new old stock cases also make people suspect these watches, they decide the NOS cases are fakes and think that all the watches in these cases are fake. Owning several of these cases and watches I can say that I am 99% sure the cases are original 75 year old NOS cases. There is quite a few NOS Helvetia parts around, I think when the factory closed they sold off a lot of old stock.
The big questions are what do these markings mean and were they ever military watches. From all the evidence they seem to have been made into watches immediately post war and from the type of markings I think there is a good chance the cases were originally for military use and probably by Germany. I don't think they were ever delivered though and were made into watches to be sold to the civilian market.
Honestly what are the chances of someone deciding to fake some military watches but using DIH instead of DH, using a lot of civilian style dials as well as military ones, only using only a small range of Helvetia dials and movements and marking them all correctly for Helvetia watches of the period, ageing them incredibly convincingly and then selling them in UK car boot sales and Ebay for less than 拢50. Pretty rubbish fakers if so!
If these watches just had a normal serial number instead of a DIH one there would be absolutely no doubt to anyone that they are vintage. Some people just can't seem to see sense where these things are concerned.
Have a look here at all the evidence: https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk/german-military-dih-watches
Thanks. Carl.
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Helvetia History
路if you have movements and dials, I鈥檇 buy a little to assemble the Watch
Sorry I don't have movements or dials. Are the cases you have all of the type with the smaller numbers beginning 35 or do you have some with the lower numbers and large DI H marking?
I would be interested in knowing the serial numbers from your cases to update my records.
Thanks. Carl.
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Graf Lagunovi
路Sorry I don't have movements or dials. Are the cases you have all of the type with the smaller numbers beginning 35 or do you have some with the lower numbers and large DI H marking?
I would be interested in knowing the serial numbers from your cases to update my records.
Thanks. Carl.
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Graf Lagunovi
路Have you tried making a request at Helvetia?
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Helvetia History
路Have you tried making a request at Helvetia?
Not sure what you mean?
The company with the Helvetia name in Austria has no link to the original company. They just registered the name in the 1990s I believe.
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Graf Lagunovi
路Not sure what you mean?
The company with the Helvetia name in Austria has no link to the original company. They just registered the name in the 1990s I believe.
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Helvetia History
路I mean write mail old Helvetia
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Graf Lagunovi
路They no longer exist. They closed down in the 1980s.
maybe archive is live??
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thelinendial
路Hello all.
I have finally finished the site I have been building on Helvetia Watch Company watches!
I have pages on their 1930s sports and pilots models, serial numbers, movements etc.
It will take a few days for Google to find it but in the mean time you can get to it directly from the link below
http://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk
Please have a look. Any feedback gratefully received.
Thanks. Carl.
Your website was very informative! Thanks to your great website, I was informed and bought my first Helvetia,
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Helvetia History
路Your website was very informative! Thanks to your great website, I was informed and bought my first Helvetia,
Thanks and congratulations on joining the Helvetia club!
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