1940s steel vintage Hermes Chronograph watch
Date: 1940s
Case: Stainless steel, 32mm
Movement: Valjoux 13 movement
Dial: Black with applied Arabic numerals
Lugs: 18mm
A stunning vintage Hermes Chronograph watch, in superb condition!
A 1940s, stainless steel vintage Hermes chronograph watch. The case measures 32 mm in diameter, 46mm lug to lug, with swivel 18mm lugs. The case is marked Staybrite Steel and numbered. The manual wind, Valjoux 13 movement has 17 jewels, with the top button operating the stop/start. The black dial has applied silver Arabic numerals, with two subsidiary seconds dial. The dial is signed Hermes above the centre.
Valjoux 13- ligne Chronograph movement
Valjoux SA was founded in 1901 by the brothers John and Charles Reymond in Les Bioux and until 1929 operated under the name “Reymond Frères SA”. The company specialized on chronograph movements. In 1910 it moved to a factory building maintained by the municipality of Les Bioux. The company’s famous column wheel chronograph movement, Calibre 22, debuted in 1914 and lasted in production for sixty years. But it was deemed too large for wrist watch use. The 13-ligne chronograph Calibre 23 was then developed, which in 1916 came to the production stage and soon being used in the wristwatches of many different manufacturers (i.e.: Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, Rolex & Vacheron Constantin). The production lasted nearly sixty years, and until 1974 about 125,000 ebauche movements of this type were made.
