LeCoultre Ladies Vintage Watch - Hand-Engraved Gold-Filled Wadsworth Case - Circa 1920s

A woman's watch was an ornament before it was an instrument. In the early decades of the last century she wore it on a fine chain at the neck or pinned at the shoulder, raising it to read the hour and letting it fall again. The wristwatch was still new then, and many of the first to reach a woman's wrist had not been built for it. A small pendant watch would go to a jeweler, who fitted it with lugs and a bracelet so it could be worn and read through the day. This one began its life exactly like that.

The bezel is engraved the whole way around, scrolls and small flowers worked into the gold, the close handwork that made a plain round watch worth wearing where it could be seen. The dial within has gone to a warm ivory/yellow, lightly toned and spotted with its age, carrying only black Arabic numerals and a fine inner ring. The hands are blued steel, slender and dark over the pale ground. The dial bears no name; the signature, LeCoultre, sits on the movement inside, an Alexora Watch Co trade mark beside it.

The case is gold-filled made in America by the Wadsworth Watch Case Company and marked inside its hinged back as the Rambler grade, warranted ten years. The fluted crown still sits at twelve, where a pendant watch wears it, and the lugs that hold it to the wrist were added in the conversion. It hangs now from a JB Champion bracelet of gold-toned links.

The watch runs and keeps time. The engraving has worn soft at its high points after a century of handling, and where a gold-filled case wears through it shows the base metal beneath, as the photographs show. This is an old watch left as it was found, not restored. Please look closely at the images before buying.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position. I am happy to service any unserviced watch listed on the site, please inquire about service charges when purchasing.

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