Very occasionally you might see something that is just beautiful and isn’t “out of this world” expensive, so it’s possible to own it and you determine that you must! It was this way when we saw this watch for the first time.

The white, almost Pearl like, face is fabulous and is complimented by a printed red minute and second scale and a blue Speed tachymeter. The Arabic Patek Philippe “Calatrava-esc” Art Deco black hour markers are just so elegant too. It is beautifully finished off with two sub-dials, “seconds” at 9 and a “thirty minutes” counter at 3.

We suspect the dial has been repainted in its lifetime, as it is just perfect, there’s no foxing or staining whatsoever. If it has been redone, it has been carried out in an extremely professional manner. The acrylic crystal also looks immaculate.

The 18k gold case back is in great condition. Especially for a metal so soft; and a watch so old! Some say these watches were made for the tourist visiting Switzerland or Europe and were therefore made to a budget. That may be true; the solid gold case back is, in fact, very thin and occasionally pops off; but it goes back on ok.

The main 35mm case is good and solid, with minimal scratching which suggests it has been polished at some time. There is, what appears to be, an assay mark on the left hand side at 9 o’clock, but we cannot read it. The lugs are also in great condition and are not showing any signs of the usual wear.

The 18k Gold bezel is a little beaten up and has been repaired in a couple of places. Again, it is made of thin 18k Gold and does have dents and desk marks; but rather than detracting from the watch, they add to its overall patina. It just looks “just right”, if you know what we mean.

The Tessuflex Strap is a thing of beauty in its self! It is marked with the TESSUFLEX logo and “Patented”, to one end. The other, is marked “PLAQUE OR.G 1970 ITALY”. So Watson, we can deduce this is not its original strap!

However, it’s an inspired choice for this watch as the tone of the plating is spot on; and being a “domed” bracelet rather than flat, the light catches each link differently, giving it great depth. It has not been over stretched and still fits the wrist perfectly, whatever your wrist size. Unexpanded, the bracelet measures 17cm and it doubles at full stretch to 34cm! The wonderful thing about this strap is the watch sits where you put it on your wrist, rather than moving around or slipping as it might on a leather strap. After a while you forget you are wearing a watch, it’s that comfortable.

The venerable Landeron 48 movement is the heartbeat of this watch. With over three and a half Million produced, it has to be one of the most popular movements of all time. It was so successful because it was a bullet proof worker. Ours is an absolute trooper, beating away with vigour. It has a positive wind and keeps good time. The Chronograph function works as it should too. The top button starts and re-starts the seconds hand and the bottom one stops and re-sets to 12. The minutes hand on the 30 minute sub-dial, click over positively when the second hand passes 12. With a positive push, it resets perfectly.

We have to admit, we love this watch and it is going to be very hard, if not, neigh on impossible to sell it. Give us a call to see if we are tempted!