Technos - Tropical Dial - Red Sweep Seconds - Swiss, 1940s

Joseph Gunzinger was born in Welschenrohr in 1892 and learned the trade at his father's bench. The village sits in a narrow valley in Solothurn, and watchmaking was most of what it did there. He took over the family workshop in 1920. Four years later he registered a name for the watches coming out of it. By 1970 the factory was the biggest employer in the valley. The name is printed in a small gilt arc under the twelve.

The dial has aged beautifully. Around the rim, where the minute and seconds track runs, it is still black. Inside that ring it has gone a tropical warm grey, and it changes in the light. The light decides how bright or warm it reads, and a photo cannot capture it fully.

The dial's printing is true gilt, with gold numerals and hashes across the dial. The center seconds hand is red. There is light foxing across the upper half of the dial and a scatter of speckling near the name. The crystal is clear and displays the dial beautifully.

The case is chrome plated over brass and closed with a stainless steel back. The plating has worn through to the brass in quite a few areas. The lugs are long and stepped. The crown is knurled and still bright.

The back is stamped STAINLESS STEEL BACK, SWISS MADE, and the case number 926. Someone worked on the inside of it by hand. A shop name is scratched under the stamping, and below that are two dates, the legible one 4/3/52. Watchmakers marked the inside of a back when they serviced a watch, so this one was already being looked after in 1952.

The movement is hand wound and carries fifteen jewels. It is marked SWISS MADE, and the regulator is lettered R and A, retard and avance, slow and fast. Its service history since those scratches is unknown. The watch is running.

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.

All sales final.