Wittnauer Genève Tank - Tiger's Eye Stone Dial - Early 1960s

In the iron country of South Africa's Northern Cape, the ground makes a stone with light caught inside it. Cut and polished, tiger's eye holds a band of gold that lives not on its surface but in its depth, and when the stone moves, the light moves with it, sliding across the bands the way sun crosses a field. For most of history it was cut for amulets, and a stone that seemed to look back was thought to guard whoever carried it.

In the early 1960s, watchmakers began cutting dials from stone itself: onyx, lapis, and tiger's eye, sliced thin, polished flat, and set under crystal. Wittnauer, which shared a company with Longines during this period, placed precious stones in a number of their watches. This dial's tiger's eye bands run vertically, honey through deep bronze, and the light inside them slides as the wrist turns, brightest down the center, darker at the shoulders. Applied gold batons with white centers mark the hours, the name sits in white below twelve with Genève in script above six, and slim gold hands ride over the stone. While I do believe the dial is tiger's eye from the way the light travels along the bands as it does across the stone, I am not a stone expert so i cant certify it.

Inside is Wittnauer's hand-wound caliber 8K/1, seventeen jewels, small and simple. It asks for a wind in the morning and nothing else.

The case has a gold-plated and a stainless steel back, as the back is stamped base metal bezel. The plating shows wear at the edges of the lugs to brass/copper, honest for its years. It comes on a black leather strap. The watch runs, and its service history is unknown.

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.

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