BWC Vintage Chronograph Lemania 1975s

Sporty and rare gentleman’s chronograph in excellent original condition, Switzerland, 1975

The story of this watch

# BWC 

# Stainless steel chronograph 

# Silver dial with small seconds and tachymeter scale

# Cal. Lemania 1340

# 41mm (39mm without crown)

# Original condition with stainless steel bracelet and folding clasp

# Automatic

# 1975

# Switzerland

# Acquired from a German collector

The BWC is in perfect working order, including the chronograph function, and has just been serviced: (286°; +10s/d).  

The watch shows very few signs of wear. There are no deep scratches, dents or similar marks, and the crystal is scratch-free.

The story of the brand

The Swiss manufacturer BWC (Buttes Watch Co.), founded in 1924 by Arthur Charlet in Buttes (Canton of Neuchâtel), is known for producing affordable mechanical watches of solid quality. At the time, the company focused primarily on producing pocket watches. In 1953, the founder’s father-in-law, Edwin Volkart, took over the company. BWC has been owned by the Pforzheim-based company Starck Watches since 2003, and since 2004, watches have been made in Biel and Pforzheim under a new concept.

Buttes Watch Co. was founded around 1901 by "Henri" Alexandre Jeannin-Rosselet in Buttes, Canton of Neuchâtel. He had previously worked in watchmaking in Fleurier. He registered the BWC brand name in 1905. In 1924, Arthur Charlet took over the company in his birthplace. He was also involved in Charlet Bilat & Co. Charlet’s son-in-law Edwin Volkart took over management in 1953, and the company really got started at this point, focusing on chronographs like this one. The company used Lemania, Landeron and Valjoux movements.

From the outset, the history of Buttes Watch Co. was linked to Pforzheim, Germany, a city known for gold and watchmaking. Its first customer in 1924 was Reinhold Reeck.

Initially, production focused on all types of pocket watches of the time for the German market. In addition to Germany, Buttes Watch Co. entered markets in England, Spain, Poland and Hungary. Later, its sales territory expanded to include the major European countries, reaching as far as Greece and Turkey. Overseas, the main markets were the USA, Cuba and Canada.

Buttes Watch Co. recognized the trend toward wristwatches early on and began producing them in 1930. These watches were made primarily with FEF-Peseux and FHF calibres. A new era of quality began in 1938 with the use of the AS 1130 calibre, which later gained a reputation for the highest quality among all the countries involved in World War II. Watches with this calibre are still referred to as "Wehrmacht watches" today. This movement was later replaced by the UT 6380 calibre.