Longines Tank - Retro Era Hourglass Case - Prism Crystal - Cal. 23Z - Circa 1950

Produced for the American market at a moment when Longines was designing some of the most architecturally adventurous dress watches in its history, this piece carries the concave hourglass case that defined the late 1940s and early 1950s Retro era for the brand. The sides of the gold filled case draw sharply inward at the waist before flaring back out at top and bottom, creating a silhouette that reads differently from every angle. The crystal is not a dome but a prism, rising to a sharp central ridge that runs the width of the watch and refracts the light differently across each of its two faces, the reflections shifting and warping with every change of angle in a way no conventional crystal produces. The champagne silver dial is signed Longines with the winged hourglass below, gold Arabic numerals at nine, twelve and three, applied gold baton indices at the remaining positions, and gold dauphine hands on center seconds. At the corners of the dial, seventy years have produced soft amber and brown swirls that bleed inward from the edges, each corner slightly different from the next, the kind of patina that develops slowly and cannot be directed. The watch is fitted on a black lizard strap.

In 1950, America was entering the Cold War with the confidence of the only nation that had emerged from the Second World War with its industrial base intact. The consumer economy was accelerating, men who had worn military-issue watches through the war were spending their postwar earnings on civilian dress watches, and nearly half of everything Longines made in Saint-Imier was flowing to the United States. That relationship traced back to 1880, when A. Wittnauer became Longines' exclusive American agent, eventually giving rise to the Longines-Wittnauer name that appears stamped on the caseback of this watch alongside the New York and Geneva addresses and the gold filled specification.

Longines had been making movements in Switzerland since 1832, and by 1950 held the oldest registered trademark in the watchmaking industry. The Cal. 23Z inside this watch was introduced in late 1948 and is historically notable as one of the only entirely new movements developed by a major Swiss manufacturer in the immediate post-WWII period, when the economic devastation across Europe had made most houses reluctant to invest in new caliber development. Longines proceeded regardless, driven in part by pressure from their American distributors who wanted a modern replacement for a predecessor movement that had been in production since the 1920s. The result was a 17-jewel manual wind caliber with gold chatons and a large screw-balance wheel, signed LONGINES WATCH CO SWISS / SEVENTEEN 17 JEWELS on the plate, serial 9734409, caliber designation 23Z.

The caseback is stamped LONGINES-WITTNAUER / WATCH CO INC / NEW YORK GENOVA MONTREAL / OP&AK / GOLD FILLED / 545-47. The watch is running well.

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.

All sales final.