A vintage Lemania two-register, round pusher, chronograph with attractive tropical patina to the dial. Lemania Caliber 1275 Movement with Kif Shock Protection - c.1954

Lemania was a Swiss watch manufacturer and maker of watch movements. It was founded in 1884 by Alfred Lugrin (1858-1920), who had trained at Jaeger-LeCoultre. Lugrin received awards and gold medals at exhibitions in Milan in 1906 and in Berne in 1914. Until 1930, the factory was called Lugrin SA, then, Lugrin's son-in-law, Marius Meylan established the brand name Lemania Watch Co., based in l'Orient.

In 1932, Lemania, Omega, and Tissot merged to form the SSIH group. Lemania produced movements for Omega, including for the Speedmaster that Buzz Aldrin wore on the moon.

With the advent of electronic watches in the 1970s, sales of mechanical watches from the SSIH Group collapsed. In 1980, creditor banks gave Nicolas Hayek the task of restructuring the group. In the course of a management buyout, Lemania separated from the SSIH Group in 1981 and changed its name to Nouvelle Lemania. In 1992 the Nouvelle Lemania was bought by Breguet. The Lemania calibers are still used today in watches of numerous well-known brands.

What’s On Offer 

A charming offering here in the shape of this vintage Lemania two-register chronograph with attractive oxidisation on the dial which graduates from a Champagne colour at 12 o clock to a light rouge at 6 o clock. This also could be affectionately termed as 'White Tropical'.

It’s a happy accident of course, but this, combined with the elegant gold leaf hands & applied gold Arabic numerals and baton markers, lend the dial a rather opulent aesthetic.

The dial furniture is in good order, the dished sub-dials and tachymeter scale are still sharp and although there are slight blemishes to the very outer perimeter of the dial, they form part of this watch's charm and its vintage integrity.

The crown at some point has been replaced with a Tissot crown, however, this corresponds with the Lemania movement and doesn’t take away from the watch's overall appeal (you may be aware that Tissot used the same movement in some of their offerings). The case and pushers look well with only slight signs of wear as one would come to expect with a watch of this age. The dimensions are fairly standard for the time of production however, it does wear larger possibly due to the slim bezel and the crown and pushers combined.

The case back is endearingly engraved with ‘Ken from Lilla. 1954’ so this watch has obviously been a treasured gift at some point.

Additional information

Made from

Case: Stainless steel

Dial: Tropical oxidised

Crystal: Plexiglass

Bracelet: NATO style leather strap

Technical specifications

Winding: Manual

Movement Type: Mechanical

Caliber: Lemania 1275

Jewels: 17j

Waterproof: n/a

Power reserve: 39hrs

Purchase details

Condition: Excellent - 8.5/10

Model Reference: 105

Date of issue: c.1954

Guarantee: 12 Months by VWS

Dimensions

Width: 35mm

Lug width: 18mm

Lug height: (lug to lug) 41.5mm

Wrist size:  Adjustable