What to do with a beautiful autumn Sunday, when you are a watch nerd?

I´m constantly monitoring our local Craigslist. It´s very seldom nowadays I find any interesting listings, but I continue to look more or less out of pure habit, more than in a hope to find any good buys. In the past I have made som very nice acquisitions, so every once in a while something do surface, or at least did.

This past Saturday I found an interesting ad. I contacted the seller by mail. The responses I got were very short. I realised that this was not a person that I wanted to take the risk to send a larger sum of money in advance to, and then get (maybe) a Watch (in unknown condition) in the post in return. The watch was 150 km away, I thought, what the heck, I have nothing better to do on this beautiful day!

So off we went, my SM300 beater and I



150 km, 1 and an half hour later, I found myself at the living room table in a very nice house, in the front of a very nice and polite man who offered me coffee and a look at some nice watches that he had assembled visiting markets and auctions. The one I had came to see, and hopefully buy, where there of course too, and after some nice conversation the chrono in question sat on my wrist.

Heading home again


It´s a beautiful time of the year, the autumn with the clear and somewhat chilly air, and all the nice colours in the woods!

Almost at home again


I think you all can see the 50ies chronograph in the blurry picture above

Home in my yard, it´s safer to take a good picture of my buy of the day



A pretty rare bird indeed! My point with this thread, is to show that there are still equally collectible as priceworthy watches out there to be collected! A number of years ago, I drove 800 km in one day to collect a Railmaster 2914. I spent 600$ more on the Railmaster than on this Tissot chrono.... But the hunt is still the same thing, and the people you meet during the hunt are also the same. Even if I wouldn´t have dreamt of, back in the days, to drive 300 km to collect a Tissot, even if a chronograph

After some clean up (before it goes to the watchmaker for service/ cleaning and some additional esthetical touch-up), it looks actually pretty good. The only flaw on the watch being a scratch/ mark in the edge of the dial between 12 and 1 o´clock. But I guess it´s very hard to get it all, rarity AND excellent condition!







The ref being 174. I know Lemania used it too. (I sold one such on the Forum not long ago. It´s now living it´s life in the windy and chilly Chicago, which is pretty much the same climate as we have here, where it left from!)



The movement is 27CH-41H which was later and at Omega designated 321. In the Lemania branded chrono it was designated 2520. The serial on this one just a few hundreds away from the movement in the Lemania I sold. The serial range, places it in the mid 50ies.



One more detail that contributed to my decision to pick this one up, was an engraving on the caseback


It says "For proven resourcefulness/ The North Sea 23-12-1960/ Röda Bolaget" Röda Bolaget is a Swedish company that provides tugboat services and is still in operation. The first owner of this watch obviously made an heroic achievement in the North Sea the day before Christmas in 1960. So the watch have a story behind it, and I would like to find out what it is. I will update the thread if and when I find something about it.

Now, is this watch a good investment? I´m not so sure, but there is an easy way to triple my money! All I will need is a fine pen and a steady hand!



If there´s anyone else on the Forum owning a chrono with the reference 174, please do share it in the thread! And Ed, you´re disqualified!

 

Great find and nice write up. I hope you find out more about who the watch was presented to and why.

 

Nice find and great story.

 

Congratulations on a great find and story to boot...I was going to comment that this looks really familiar to a Lemania I picked up from a certain someone recently! But I will restrain myself from posting a picture, as requested.

P.S. Love the alpha hands!

 

Great write up Martin - thanks for sharing

 

Super post. Thanks!

"Our local Craigslist" gave me this one from the first owners son. I agree on it being fewer interesting watches - and further apart today, but still there are watches to be found there.

 

Looks like a great road trip and well worth the drive.

I also have a 174, mine´s a -3. I always call it a 2451 as I think that has the same case shape as ours and is a more often seen reference for that shape.

I really like the chunky screw back case and they do wear very nicely on the wrist

 

I do remember that one JE. Actually I did find my first Flightmaster, on the same site as you found yours, just a few weeks earlier. If not, we would have had another competition for a vintage watch! Which I most likely would have lost, since I haven't been able to beat you even once, when competing for the same watch, ha, ha!

 

Great! There you go, the Omega branded variant. Thanks for sharing!

Ed, maybe you could show yours too, after all, so that we have the 3 brands represented. Unless someone else will step up @Northernman

 

Tjena Martin,

Just read your story. Lovely find, and it shows that a nice driving trip sometimes can be topped!

I have only one Lemania CH27 with a ref 17408. However this one does not have the waterproof pushers.
This one is also much older than your Tissot based on the serial.

 

All right then...

My reference 174...

With a cal. 2520

 

Or a nice Lemania dial?

A pity IMO but the Omega version would fetch three of four times the price over an in-house Lemania version.
Omega never touched these watches anyway. 100% made in l´Orient.


Almost forgot I have the 1956 Catalog.
Here is the ref 174:

 

Nice find! I try to keep an eye out as well, but finding the good pieces is not easy with all the poor condition or franken ones out there! Congrats!

 

Great little bit of bed time reading.

I love the excitement of driving to a watch deal. Especially when you've only got a brief description and a few grainy pictures to go on.

 

looks good!

thanks for sharing

 

Hear hear!

 

Guys?
Is anyone able to date this movement number?
It's supposed to be a Lemania 2310/2520...in a Sutter chronograph, which looks very similar to the Tissot...

That's the backside, now the front:

And the resembling Tissot:

(I don't know who owns this last picture, but if the owner doesn't like me posting it here, let me know, I will remove it.)

Kind regards,
Bart (IG: Emiel911)

 

Cool watch!
My best estimate on the serial number is 1947-49.
Cheers

 

Thank you!