1969 YEMA Rallye “Mario Andretti” Chronograph

Here we have a 1969 YEMA Rallye “Mario Andretti” Chronograph, he wore this reference at the Indianapolis 500 race where he won after 5 attempts in 1969. The 38.5mm stainless steel case has a distinctive curve towards the thick tapered lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 48mm and a case thickness of 13.5mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. Down the right side, we have the chronograph piston pushers and a large crown in the centre. The stainless steel bezel has a Tachymeter scale insert that has faded over time. A domed crystal sits above a black dial with two off-set red vertical lines, an outer minute track is precisely executed with applied block and baton indexes infilled with luminance to mark the hours, and at 6 o’clock a framed date window, within a dashboard shape we have a 45-minute register and at 9 o’clock a continuous seconds register. “Yema Rallye”, two chequered flags and “Modele Depose” complete this racing-inspired bicompax chronograph. On the reverse a screw-down case back, inside a manually wound Valjoux 7734, 17 jewels, 18,000 beats per hour, a true workhorse of a chronograph produced in Switzerland until 1974, the top pusher activates Start/Stop, and the bottom pusher Resets. The watch comes fitted on a 19mm leather strap.

This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no original YEMA box or paperwork. The watch comes paired with a well-suited 19mm leather strap. The watch is from Circa. 1969 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, wear is visible but overall the watch is in fair condition for its age. The watch comes with our 12-Months Non-Waterproof Warranty.

YEMA as a brand is going from strength to strength and nice vintage examples are becoming harder and harder to find, especially these "Mario Andretti" Chronographs. Yema today is producing some great watches at great prices and I'd highly recommend you check them out, but for me personally, vintage will always be the kind and if you have the chance to have the OG, you should take it.

Reference : 133183
Movement : Manually Wound Valjoux 7734
Age : Circa. 1969
Year : 1969
Case Size : 40mm
Case Thickness : 13.5mm
Lug to Lug : 48mm
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box and Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
The wrist model's wrist size is 7inch

Yema was founded in 1948 by Henry Louis Belmont after he came top of his class at the National Watchmaking School of Besancon in 1931. The legend goes that the name Yema was created by a teenager's imagination who entered a competition run by Henry. 1963 saw the introduction of the Yema Superman, essentially made for dive professionals. It had a 300-metre water resistance. Its bezel lock system made it unique and was soon adopted by the French Air force for its pilots. In the 1960s, Yema became the leading watch exporter in France, selling more than 500,000 watches a year in over 50 countries. In 1982 Yema went to space with Yema Spationaute 1.