BRAND : WITTNAUER LONGINES DIRECT READ DIGITAL JUMP HOUR
MODEL : JUMP HOUR 8510
MOVEMENT : A.SCHILDS Hi-Beat 28,800bps Cal. 2073, 17 Jewels Automatic Swiss Movement
ORIGIN : Longines/Wittnauer Swiss
SERIAL NO. : 11 004
CIRCA : 1970's
CASING : GOLD PLATED TOP & STAINLESS STEEL BACK
FUNCTION : JUMP HOUR, MINUTES, SECOND AND DATE AT 3:00
DIAL: BLACK
BEZEL: GOLD PLATED
MARKINGS: DIAL, MOVEMENT
BAND : NEW GOLD PLATED FLEXI STRECHT BAND FIT 8" WRIST
LUGS SIZE: 20mm
BAND WIDTH: 120mm
LENS: HARDLEX ACCRYLIC CRYSTAL
MEASUREMENT : 36mm w/o CROWN X 39mm LUG TO LUG
WATER RESISTANT: NOT TESTED
CONDITION: EXCELLENT WORKING CONDITION, KEEPING TIME, RECENTLY SERVICED DEC
PRICE:USD300 ( NEGOTIABLE))
SOLD RM950
HISTORY OF LONGINES-WITTANAUER WATCHES
As soon as Ernest Francillon opened a small manufacturing plant,
which started to produce the following year, the story of Longines
started in 1866. Francillon, who was the grandson of Auguste Agassiz
(a pioneer of Swiss horology whose name appears on wrist and pocket
watches of high-quality), learned his trade at his grandfather's watch
assembly shop, the "comptoir". He would finally become director of the
shop, but this thirty-two-year old man got acquainted with the limits of
the comptoir and the areas in which he would be more likely to have a
better production.
The first Longines watches arrived in America in 1868. A few years
later, Longines was awarded a gold medal for precision and reliability
at the Universal Exposition of Vienna. To prevent himself from
imitation, Francillon decided to trademark the dials on his watches with
a winged clepsydra and the word "Longines".A clepsydra is an
ancient device which measured time by marking the regulated flow of
water though a small opening. Looking carefully at the centre of the
Longines trademark a small box that represents this device is seen.
The company eventually departed from this procedure fairly quickly
because there are several Longines watches that do not have the logo. In 1889, Longines provided five chronometers to the Italian explorer Luigi Amedeo, who did his best to reach the North Pole. His
failure is hardly noted in history books, but the mark
Longines'illuswtrious history as the watch choice by explores and
adventurers.
In 1904, Longines furnished chronometers to a U.S. naval
exploration of the North Polar Region. Unfortunately, Robert E. Peary
was the first to reach the North Pole in 1909. Longines, unfortunately,
missed the chance to be part of that event. At the beginning of
1900s, Longines started to express an interest in gentlemen's wrist
watches and joined other Swiss makers which showed the same interest as
well.
The Longines Co. states that the first wrist watch was cased in 1905. The
first wrist chronographs to appear in the sports market were seen in
1910s. Moreover, Longines produced military watches for World War, some
of the, with pierced shrapnel covers, "demi-hunter" cased varieties, and
others for being used at sea and in the air.
Around 1920 - 1930s the golden years for Longines started. The
factory had a remarkable growth from 20 to 2.500 workers, who produced
more than 122.000 pieces every year. Longines would be recognized
as the constant and steady companion of many pioneering aviator in a
decade that aeroplanes and airships were recognized as military and
exploration tools of great importance. Aeroplanes started to
experience several problems such as magnetism, moisture, low
temperatures, issues which had to be overcome right away. And Longines
was acquainted with theses issues after having experienced the Artic
cold temperatures. It was during this era that Longines would
produce its most famous two wrist watches -- the Weems and the Lindbergh
models. (The Lindbergh is also referred to as the Hour Angle Watch.) In
1930, Admiral Richard E. Byrd would arrive to the South Pole for the
first time. His trips would always find him with a Longines on his
wrist.
The A. Wittnauer Co. would become the exclusive sales agent for
Longines in1880. This relationship lasted for the next 114 years. In
1936, the Wittnauer family sold A. Wittnauer Co. and renamed the
Longines-Wittnauer Co. the name became so pervasive that some people
think that the watches are synonymous. But, of course, they are not.
Their movements are distinct and not interchangeable with one another.
World War II and beyond
The company began to produce military issue watches during the
Second World War. Most of these watches were for the European forces. In
1994, Longines and Wittnauer parted company, and Swiss giant SMH, which
holds title to Hamilton, Omega and Tissot, got the name.
Chronographs
The company started to show its affinity with sporting events
during the 30s and 40s, producing a lot of unusual types of
chronographs. Many were manufacturer with Longines's own
movement, unlike the rest of the companies which would rather buy
chronograph from other companies. Therefore, the Longines
chronographs, those which were produced from the 20s to the 50s are
highly prized and have their own separate niche in the collecting world.
The best of Longines's chronograph movements was said to be the Caliber 13 ZN. It was first released in Longines' 2-register models, but was later adapted for use in its 3-register models. The
following chronographs would show movements made by Valjoux and others.
These are not recognized nearly as collectible as the chronographs with
Longines' own movements
