PREVIEW THE MOST EXPENSIVE JUMP HOUR - WITTNAUER DOUBLE RETROGRADE SECTOR FLYBACK FUTURAMA 1000 GENTS WRISTWATCH (SOLD)

BRAND/JENAMA : WITTNAUER DOUBLE RETROGRADE SECTOR FUTURAMA 1000 JUMP HOUR

MODEL : FLYBACK JUMP HOUR

MOVEMENT/ENJIN : Automatic ETA2784 Flyback Module Hi-Beat 28,800bps 17 Jewels Swiss Movement

ORIGIN/BUATAN : Longines/Wittnauer Swiss
NO. SIRI/SERIAL NO. : -

CIRCA/TAHUN : 1970's

CASING/KEMASAN : GOLD PLATED TOP & STAINLESS STEEL BACK

FUNCTION/FUNGSI : JUMP HOUR, MINUTES, SECOND AND DATE AT 3:00
DIAL: DARK YELLOW
BEZEL: GOLD PLATED

MARKINGS/TANDA JENAMA : DIAL, MOVEMENT
BAND/TALI : GENUINE BROWN LIZARD LEATHER BAND FIT 8" WRIST
LUGS SIZE: 22mm
BAND WIDTH: 120mm

LENS/CERMIN : HARDLEX ACCRYLIC CRYSTAL

MEASUREMENT/UKURAN : 41mm WITHOUT CROWN X 48mm LUG TO LUG
WATER RESISTANT: NOT TESTED

CONDITION/KONDISI : EXCELLENT WORKING CONDITION
PRICE/HARGA:SOLD (TN SHEIKH FROM PJ)
SOLD RM5000

The ingenious
flyback Wittnauer Futurama is an amazing "Retrograde" concept that is considered to be a jump hour. It is rare to some extent and one of the most expensive jump hours. A few dial versions were made: black+gold, gold+grey or silver+yellow trim as pictured. It features a robust 28.800-beat automatic ETA2784 power-horse with flyback module applied on top. There is no reference in any literature on the inventor of this module but it can be found in other similar watches including the famous LIP Sectuer and a few obscure brands (also revived recently in a modern quartz Jean d'Eve). The ETA movement and most of its derived calibres are produced unchanged until today so spare parts are easy to find. The jumping functionality is simple but requires some insight for easier troubleshooting during repairs.

So what exactly is the Sector Futurama? Well, it's one of the few double retrograde wristwatches that saw the light of day during this time period. This watch features a Swiss-Made automatic movement that, on top of being a true double retrograde (hands descend along dial and jump back to top on the hour), features a date window.

There were very few double-retrograde watches made in the early seventies but here are two of the very best. The vintage automatic winding "Futurama 1000" by Wittnauer featured only three styles, silver dial, yellow and black dial with hours and minutes displayed in an arc (hours on left, minutes on right). As each hand travels to the bottom, they fly-back to the top rather than circularly rotate. Deep-set magnified portholes for date display..

AUTHENTIC SOLID 18KWG BEZEL RING ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST 1601 GENTS WRISTWATCH (SOLD)

BRAND/JENAMA: AUTHENTIC VINTAGE ROLEX OYSTER PERPETUAL DATEJUST GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS

CIRCA/TAHUN: 1975 -

MODEL: OYSTER PERPETUAL DATE JUST MODEL 1601

CRYSTAL/CERMIN: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT/ENJIN: ROLEX 25 JEWELS AUTOMATIC WINDING MOVEMENT CAL. 1570

DIAL COLOR: BLACK DIAL

FUNCTION/FUNGSI: HOUR, MINUTES AND SECOND. NON QUICK SET DATE AT 3:00

HANDS/JARUM: WHITE GOLD/BLACK HANDS

MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: RAISED WHITE GOLD TONE BATON MARKERS

CASING : SOLID STAINLESS STEEL/ KELULI SEPENUHNYA

LUGS: 19mm

MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 37mm DIAMETER EXCLUDING CROWN and 42mm LUG TO LUG

BEZEL: SOLID 18K WHITE GOLD RING

DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: -

CROWN: ORIGINAL ROLEX 1 STEPS SOLID 18K WHITE GOLD CROWN

STRAP/TALI: GENUINE ROLEX JUBILEE STAINLESS STEEL BAND

SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"

DISCONTINUED ROLEX MODEL... RARE MINT DIAL!

EXCELLENT CONDITION, KEEPING GOODTIME AND RECENTLY SERVICED

PRICE: RM5,500 (SOLD TO CIKGU FROM TROLAK, PERAK)

LIST RM7,500 SOLD:RM

A History of Rolex Watches

Hans Wilsdorf founded the company we now know as Rolex in 1905. Born in Kulmbach, Germany in 1881, the company, Wilsdorf & Davies, was based in London. By 1908 it had become one of the leading watch companies in the UK. It was in this year that he coined the name Rolex.

Official Chronometer Certification was awarded to Rolex in 1910 from the "Bureau Officiel" in Switzerland, the first time this had ever been given to a wristwatch. This was to be the first of many accolades awarded to the watch, including the Class A Precision from the Kew Observatory in 1914.

In 1926 the Rolex Oyster was released. It was the first wristwatch to be considered waterproof, proven a year later when the watch was worn by the swimmer Mercedes Gleitze in his successful bid to cross the English Channel. This was beneficial to Wilsdorf whom had sponsored the event and gained considerable exposure for his new Oyster Watch. Wilsdorf recognized the importance of advertising and marketing his creation in order to gain publicity and prestige. 1931 saw the creation of the Perpetual Rotor, a mechanism now seen as the basis for self-winding movements. In the following years Rolex released the first Oyster Perpetual Lady-date (1954) the GMT Master with dual time zone function (1955) and the first Day-Date (1956).

Andre Heiniger took over the company following the death of Hans Wildorf on 06 July 1960. Rolex continued to invent and innovate in terms of technical skill and style throughout the 2nd half of the century. The Sea-dweller (1967) was certified as reaching depths of up to 1,220 meters making it the choice for Professional Divers - a point that was quickly adopted in advertising the model. The Explorer II (1978) and Cosmograph Daytona (1988) were also released to international waiting lists securing Rolex as one of the worlds most prestigious watch brands.

Rolex Dateline

• 1905 - Hans Wildorf establishes a London firm specialising in the distribution of watches.
• 1908 - Wildorf coins a brand name in which to sign his creations: Rolex.
• 1910 - In Switzerland, Rolex obtains the first official chronometer certification ever awarded to a wristwatch.
• 1914 - The Kew Observatory in Great Britain awards the Rolex wristwatch a CLASS A precision certificate.
• 1926 - Rolex develops and patents the first airtight, dustproof and waterproof watch - named the Oyster.
• 1927 - The Rolex Oyster crosses the English Channel unscathed.
• 1931 - Birth of the Perpetual Rotor, a self winding mechanism later found in every modern automatic watch.
• 1945 - The Oyster Datejust is invented. The first watch to display the date automatically.
• 1953 - Rolex has created the diving watch of reference - the Submariner.
• 1954 - The Oyster Perpetual Ladydate is introduced.
• 1955 - The Oyster GMT Master is designed making it possible to read the time in any two time zones.
• 1956 - The Oyster Day-Date is created.
• 1960 - The so called Bathyscaphe is created and plunges 35,787 feet into the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
• 1967 - The Oyster Sea-Dweller is invented - waterproof to a depth of 610 m / 2001 ft.
• 1971 - The Oyster Explorer II is designed.
• 1978 - The Oyster Perpetual Date Sea-Dweller is tested waterproof to a depth of 1220 m / 4003 ft.
• 1988 - The first Cosmograph Daytona is fitted with a perpetual rotor.
• 1992 - A new model is added to the Professioanl range - the Yacht-Master.
• 2004 - Submariner celebrates its 50th Anniversary. Rolex celebrates with a special commemorative model with a green bezel and unique black dial.

SOLD - AUTHENTIC VINTAGE GRUEN CHRONOGRAPH DATE GENT WRISTWATCH

BRAND/JENAMA: VINTAGE GRUEN CHRONOGRAPH DATE GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS

CIRCA/TAHUN: 1960's

MODEL: DATE TWO REGISTERS CHRONOGRAPH

CRYSTAL/CERMIN: ACRYLIC

MOVEMENT/ENJIN: SWISS VALJOUX CAL. 7734, 17 JEWELS MANUAL WINDING MOVEMENT

DIAL COLOR: GOLD CHAMPAGNE/WARNA KEEMASAN

FUNCTION/FUNGSI: CHRONOGRAPH 2 REGISTERS AT 3:00 AND 9:00. DATE AT 6:00

HANDS/JARUM: GOLD TONE/ KEEMASAN

MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: GOLD TONE BATON MARKERS WITH INNER TACHYMETER

CASING : 18K GOLD PLATED BEZEL & STAINLESS STEEL BACK

LUGS: 20mm UNIQUE DESIGN HARD TO FIND

MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 36mm DIAMETER EXCLUDING CROWN and 42mm LUG TO LUG

DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: GRUEN

CROWN: GOLD PLATED/ SADUR EMAS

STRAP/TALI: ORIGINAL GRUEN GOLD/STAINLESS STEEL BRACELET WITH ORIGINAL GRUEN CLASP

SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.5"

WORKING CONDITION, KEEPING TIME, DISCONTINUED MODEL & HARD TO FIND

PRICE/HARGA: RM2,300 SOLD

Gruen Watch Company

On June 12, 1874 Dietrich Gruen applied for a patent on an improved safety pinion, which was granted on December 22. He was 27 years old.

In 1876 he formed the Columbus Watch Manufacturing Company in the basement of a downtown Columbus, Ohio bank building.

In his Columbus workshop, Dietrich modified, finished and cased raw movements that were imported from Switzerland. These new watches included his patented safety pinion. Dietrich introduced 16-size watches as an alternative to the heavy and thick 18-size and larger watches that were prevalent at the time. He also introduced the first stemwind watches sold in the U.S. market.

As the company grew, they moved to two floors in a commerical building a few blocks away.

In 1882, in collaboration with a number of new partners, the company was reorganized as the Columbus Watch Company and moved to a newly-constructed factory building located on Thurman Street, in the 'German Village' section of Columbus. Dietrich was President of the new corporation.

By 1888 production was about 45 watches per day; the company would grow to 300 employees and output to 150 watches per day. Although the company continued to issue stemwind watches, they also manufactured keywind movements for some of their less-expensive models.

After a series of disagreements with the other partners, Dietrich Gruen and his son Fred left the Columbus Watch Company in 1894, shortly before the business went bankrupt. Dietrich had lost his share of the company to the investors, and was faced with the prospect of staying on as a salaried employee at the company that he had founded. He chose to leave rather than bear this indignity. After the departure of the Gruens the firm was reorganized, refinanced and renamed "The New Columbus Watch Company."

The New Columbus Watch Company survived until 1903. The contents of the factory, including all the tooling and stocks of movements, were eventually purchased by the Studebaker family, moved to Indiana (along with many key employees) and used to start the South Bend Watch Company. Some early South Bend watches were sold with signed Columbus movements in them.

In 1894, Fred Gruen and Dietrich Gruen decided to try to start a new watch company. Using money borrowed from friends and relatives, Dietrich and Fred formed the partnership "D. Gruen and Son.".

These first Gruen watches are of very high quality and are beautifully made. Both 18 and 16 size versions were manufactured, each in both open face and hunter styles, and in 18- and 21-jewel versions. The earliest D. Gruen & Son serial numbers started around 62000. The Gruens dealt directly with individual jewelry stores; there were no wholesalers or jobbers involved in the distribution of their watches.

In 1898 George Gruen joined the firm as treasurer and financial officer. The company incorporated and its name changed to D. Gruen, Sons & Company.

In 1903 Gruen introduces its "VeriThin" line of watches.

In 1908 Gruen introduced both men's and women's wristwatches. These proved popular only with women. Gruen was one of a very few companies to take wristwatches seriously this early, seeing their potential in spite of disappointing early sales to male customers.

Gruen made both wrist and pocket watches for the military during World War I. Most had silver cases, which would tarnish but would not corrode under adverse conditions. To satisfy U.S. military regulations, these watches all have luminous dial markings and hands.

1911 Dietrich Gruen dies suddenly. Fred Gruen takes control of the company.

In 1913 the company purchased Nanny Goat Hill, a pasture just outside of Cincinnati, and renamed it Time Hill. Work began on a new building designed by architect Guy C. Burroughs at a construction cost estimated at $50,000 USD. The company moved to the new location in 1917.

1921: Gruen introduces The Cartouche wrist watch calling it "The logical wrist watch shape".

1922: Gruen introduces "The Pentagon" pocket watch. "the Croix de Guerre of American achievement"

Up until 1922 there had actually been three Gruen companies: D. Gruen, Sons & Company; The Gruen National Watch Case Company of Cincinnati; and The Gruen Watch Manufacturing Company of Biel, Switzerland. In 1922 all three businesses were merged to form the Gruen Watch Company, with Fred as President.

In 1924, Gruen released a special pocket watch in an edition of 600 to commemorate their 50th anniversary. The watch cost $500 at the time.

In 1925, Gruen introduced the men's Quadron. These were rectangular watches containing very high-quality 15-j or 17-j tonneau-shaped movements.

In 1928 Gruen releases The Techni-Quadron. The famous Techni-Quadron "doctor's watches" are so-called because the large seconds dial was handy for timing a patient's pulse.

In 1935 Fred Gruen, now 63 years old, became Chairman of the Board and Benjamin S. Katz was brought in as President of the Gruen Watch Company. In 1935, Gruen was about $1.8 million USD (roughly $36 million USD today) in debt; nervous stockholders and investors were behind the change. Fred would retire in 1940, but continued to sit on the board for the rest of his life.

In 1935 Gruen introduces the most famous Gruen wristwatch- "The Curvex". These watches are one of the greatest examples of 1930s streamlined design.

1937: Gruen introduces "The Ristside" or "driver's" watches.

In 1938, continuing the success of their VeriThin pocket watches, Gruen also launched a series of Veri-Thin wristwatches. Contemporary Curvex and Veri-Thin movements often are closely related, and can share many parts. By the 1940s, most Gruen wristwatches were either Veri-Thin or Curvex models.

Although Gruen did not manufacture watches for the U.S. military, they offered the public a collection of eight military-style watches, to be used as personal watches.

In 1949, the company introduced their first watches made entirely in the U.S., a line of 21-jewel men's models called the "Gruen 21". The movements are marked "Cincinnati" or "US" instead of the usual "Switzerland."

Fred Gruen retired in 1940 and died in 1945, and his brother George died in 1952. In 1953 the Gruen family sold their interest in the company. The same year, Gruen president Benjamin Katz was forced into retirement after a scandal, and in 1954 the company bought out his shares for $2 million USD.

In 1953, the Gruen Watch Company had its highest sales in its entire history.
Gruen, Rolex and Aegler

One of the most deeply-held myths about Gruen is that Gruen and Rolex at one time manufactured movements for each other's watches. Both firms did use some of the same movements—the best known examples are the Gruen Techi-Quadron and its twin, the Rolex Prince. In reality, these movements were manufactured by a third company, Aegler, who was a very close neighbor to the Gruen Precision Factory.

Above: The Aegler factory in Biel. Aegler made movements for Rolex (which had no manufacturing capability at the time), and this building is the main Rolex factory today. Aegler was partly owned by Gruen.

Gruen and Rolex were Aegler's biggest customers, and were both large shareholders as well—the full company name at one time was, Aegler, Societe Anonyme, Fabrique des Montres Rolex & Gruen Guild A. Gruen and Rolex both occasionally showed pictures of the huge Aegler factory in their advertising, making the implication that this was a Gruen- or Rolex-owned facility, although ownership at the time was divided among Gruen, Rolex and Aegler itself. Gruen sold their Aegler shares in the 1930s, after they moved all production to the Precision Factory. After this time, Aegler became increasingly tied to Rolex through the sale of stock. Today, the main Rolex building in Biel is the old Aegler factory, and though it is now owned by Rolex, it is still run by the Aegler family.

This article taken from Complete Price Guide to Watches, American Wriswatches, Rolex Wristwatches: Best of Time and Gruen Master Book

AUTHENTIC IWC - INTERNATIONAL WATCH CO GENTS DA VINCI WATCH (SOLD)

BRAND/JENAMA: AUTHENTIC IWC DA VINCI GENTS WRISTWATCH

MADE IN/BUATAN: SWISS BY INTERNATIONAL WATCH CO.

CIRCA/TAHUN: 1990's

MODEL: TITANIUM

CRYSTAL/CERMIN: CLEAN SAPPHIRE CRYSTAL / BERSIH TANPA CALAR

MOVEMENT/ENJIN: IWC 21 JEWELS AUTOMATIC MOVEMENT

DIAL COLOR: BLACK/HITAM

FUNCTION/FUNGSI: DRESSWATCH

HANDS/JARUM: SILVER TONE/ PERAK

MARKERS/TANDA WAKTU: LUMINOUS SILVER TONE STICKS/PERAK RANTING

CASING : SOLID TITANIUM

LUGS: 20mm

MEASUREMENT/UKURAN: 36mm DIAMETER WITH CROWN and 41mm LUG TO LUG

DITANDA/ENGARVED BACK CASING: NS/N 2661243

CROWN: SOLID TITANIUM/ TITANIUM

STRAP/TALI: GENUINE ORIGINAL IWC BLACK LEATHER WITH ORIGINAL IWC BUCKLE

SIZE STRAP/SAIZ TALI: 8.25"

COMES WITH ORIGINAL BOX AND OUTER BOX, EXCELLENT CONDITION, KEEPING TIME AND RECENTLY SERVICED

PRICE/HARGA: SOLD TO MR AZUAN FROM SELANGOR
SOLD RM5000

BRIEF FISTORY OF IWC WATCHES

International Watch Co, also known as IWC, is a high-end Swiss watch manufacturer located in Schaffhausen, Switzerland. IWC is an active member of the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH.

IWC Schaffhausen is notable for being the only major Swiss watch factory located in eastern Switzerland, as the majority of the well-known Swiss watch manufacturers are located in western Switzerland. Notwithstanding the lingua franca of IWC is German.

An interesting fact you may or may not know: International Watch Company (IWC) is possibly the only major Swiss watch company whose founder was an American!

During the 1860's, three manufacturers dominated the American watch industry: Elgin, Howard and Waltham. Combined, these firms produced upwards of 100,000 pocket watches. Times were changing in the industry as pocket watches went from being a status symbol that only the wealthiest individuals could afford, to an everyday item available to the middle class. As a result, production methods had to be improved; for example, most parts for watches were still being made by hand. Costs were also high because the pool of available, qualified watchmakers was relatively small.

In Boston, Massachusetts, Florentine Ariosto Jones, who had worked in the American watch industry for a number of years, keenly observed the failure of Aaron Lufkin Dennison, a leader in the watch business, whose efforts to move production to Switzerland to benefit from lower wages and Swiss watchmaking know-how, failed miserably. Undaunted, Jones took over the failed enterprise and soon set up his own company in Switzerland. His plan was to assemble watches in Switzerland and import them into the United States, hence the name International Watch Company.

Fortuitously, Jones made the acquaintance of one Johann Heinrich Moser, a watchmaker whose hometown of Schaffhausen was conveniently located near the Rhine. Following Moser's advice, a dam was built in order to harness the mighty river and generate hydro-power to drive the machines used in manufacturing facilities throughout Schaffhausen.

A watch factory was built in Schaffhausen to take advantage of the cheap hydro-power and production commenced in 1868. Despite the company's unique business plan, the enterprise was doomed from the start. For one thing, Jones had trouble selling the watches in America, due to a high tariff on imported finished watches. An even worse problem: Jones was undercapitalized and encountered technical problems with the machines. By 1875, he was scrambling to find new investors, amid allegations by disgruntled stockholders that the company was on the verge of collapse. Inevitably, the company filed for bankruptcy and Jones was forced to relinquish control of his company.

A Swiss consortium acquired IWC's shares and put another American, Frederick Seeland, at its helm. Although the company's fortunes improved somewhat, the improvement was not deemed sufficient enough. As a result, the company was put up for sale again. This time, one of IWC's stockholders, Johannes Raschenbach-Vogel, bought the company at auction for 280,000 francs. Technical achievements and increased sales soon followed with the production of the first pocket watches with digital time indication, as well as development of the famous Calibre 52 movement, which at the time was quite revolutionary in its concept and construction.

Although the company experienced significant growth, following World War I, the company's fortunes again hit rock bottom under the proprietorship of Ernst Homberger-Rauschenbach. Fortunately, a major modernization effort paid off when the advent of World War II resulted in increased military demand. It was thus during World War II that IWC created the first oversize anti-magnetic pilot's watch, followed by the famous Mark X, featuring its new in-house movement, Calibre 83. In 1944, IWC had a close call when the Allies mistakenly bombed Schaffhausen. As luck would have it, the factory narrowly escaped destruction.

In the aftermath of the war, International Watch Company lived up to its name and became a company of international scope. Exports to the United States increased and the brand became best known for its specialty watches, such as the Mark XI and Ingenieur - the first automatic IWC with a soft-iron inner case that protected the movement against magnetic fields - as well as for its elegant dress watches. Needless to say, vintage IWC's from the 1940's and 50's are highly collectible today and in great demand, as they are somewhat under-priced compared to other high-end watch brands of that era.

Although IWC entered the quartz era with its first quartz watch in 1969, using the Beta 21 movement, the company was ultimately unable to remain under family ownership. In 1978, a majority interest in the company was sold to VDO Adolf Schindling AG.

Subsequent developments include the debut of the Porsche series of sports watches, which remain in production to this day, as well as the creation of the "DaVinci" - a perpetual calendar chronograph wristwatch that is mechanically programmed for the next 500 years. This watch caused quite a stir when first introduced and set new standards with its "user friendly" perpetual calendar. In 1993, the company again stunned the watch world when it unveiled the remarkable Il Destriero, which at the time was the most complicated wristwatch in the world.

The year 2000 is no less exciting for the company, as it introduces a new advertising campaign, as well as the 5000 calibre, a new mechanical movement with a power reserve of seven days and an automatic movement. The automatic, an IWC exclusive, is a further development of the patented Pellaton system. The pocket watch-size movement is featured in the latest addition to the Portuguese line: an automatic with a power reserve display. It should also be noted that 1999 was the most successful year in IWC's history, with 39,000 watches sold, 115 million Swiss francs in revenue, and over 350 employees.

In closing, the company's philosophy is best summed up by IWC's current CEO, Michael Sarp, who recently stated: "We shall produce watches of the highest quality with unique technical and design characteristics and thus continue to experience the pleasures of innovation." If you should have an opportunity to examine an IWC, you will quickly realize that Mr. Sarp speaks the truth