BRAND/JENAMA : WEST END HEXAGON DAYDATE SOWAN PRIMA GENTS WRISTWATCH
MODEL : VINTAGE 1970's WEST END HEXAGON SOWAN PRIMA GENTS WATCH
MOVEMENT/ENJIN :SWISS 17 JEWELS AUTOMATIC WINDING ETA CAL.2836-2
ORIGIN/BUATAN : SWISS
NO. SIRI/SERIAL NO. : M4744
CIRCA/TAHUN : 1970's
CASING/KEMASAN : SOLID STAINLESS STEEL
MOVEMENT/PERGERAKAN : SWISS 17 JEWELS AUTOMATIC ETA CAL.2836-2
DIAL: BLACK
HANDS: LUMUNOUS BLACK METAL
MARKERS: RAISED LUME DOT INDICES
MARKINGS/TANDA JENAMA : DIAL AND MOVEMENT
BAND/TALI : NEW STRECH SS BAND
CROWN: ORIGINAL W CROWN
LUGS SIZE: 18mm
BAND WIDTH: 18mm
LENS/CERMIN : MINERAL GLASS NO SCRSTCHES
MEASUREMENT/UKURAN :35mm WITHOUT CROWN X 38mm LUG TO LUG
WATER RESISTANT: -
CONDITION/KONDISI : GOOD CONDITION, WORKING AND KEEPING TIME
PRICE/HARGA: USD200 (NEGOTIABLE)
BRIEF HISTORY OF WEST END WRISTWATCHES
West End was a good quality manufacturer that specialized in marketing to the Middle East and South Asia. There are earlier West End watches marked C.S. (I) for Civil Service in India
The West End Watch Company was created in 1886. The West End, a district of the centre of London, inspired its name to Mr. Arnold Charpié who was the Bombay representative of the Alcide Droz & Sons firm, a watch company established at Saint-Imier (Canton of Berne) in Switzerland.
In 1886, MM. Amstutz and Droz, the owner of Alcide Droz & Sons firm, began the exploitation of the trademark West End Watch Company in the Indian Market and developed the first waterproof pocket watch ever produced : "L'Impermeable" (nowadays exposed at the International Watchmaking Museum of La Chaux-de-Fonds).
During the First World War, a large task of British and Indian soldiers was sent from Bombay to the Persian Gulf to reach the Mesopotamia (the current Iraq). They received some West End Watches.
In 1917, West End Watch Company changed its name to Société des Montres West End SA and is registered in Geneva. At the same time the sub-brand Sowar was also registered.
In 1934, the Société des Montres West End SA was the first brand to introduce the Incabloc anti-shock system invented by Mr. Braunschweig.
In 1973, after several years of development, the company was finally sold, for lack of heirs, to his main supplier : "Aubry Brothers Ltd", established in Noirmont ( Jura) to keep open the Bombay West End Watch's office.
Since 2000 the workshops and the head centre of the company have been moved to Leytron , in Wallis. At the same time, the company was taken over by new shareholders and the management changed.
In 2005 West End Watch Company celebrated its 120th anniversary of uninterrupted presence in Asia with the introduction of its "Silk Road concept". This concept came from the fact the Silk Road crossed most of the regions where the brand possessed, and still possesses, counters.
Nowadays, West End Watch Company is active in Saudi Arabia, in the United Arab Emirates, in the Himalaya Range (in particular in Nepal and in Bhutan) and as well as in western half of China.
2010 A first in the Brands history, West End Watches are now exclusively distributed/sold in the USA and Canada by Empire Brands. EB is a distributor of leading products around the globe.
In 2011, West End Watch Company will celebrate its 125 years of uninterrupted activity so a commemorative book redrawing the history of the brand will be published in 2010 in association with the Centre Jurassien d’Archives et de Recherches Economiques.
The model still manufactured today is Sowar. In Hindu, Sowar means "warrior" and this name was selected in honor of Sir Thomas Edward Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) because it's said that him and his soldiers wore some West End Watch Company watches during the war.
