1970s Wakmann Automatic Chronograph Lemania 1341
Ref: 9804
Specification
Lugs : 20mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Gold Plated
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no Wakmann box or Wakmann paperwork. The watch comes paired with a 20mm leather strap. The watch is from Circa. 1970s and is in worn, vintage condition, but overall good as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
The Watch
Here we have a 1970s Wakmann, a yachting-inspired Regate Chronograph with a 42mm Gold-plated tonneau-shaped case, a lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a case thickness of 14.5mm giving the watch an impressive wrist presence, sitting on the wrist like a cushion for a comfortable fit. Down the right side, we have the chronograph pushers and in the centre a large crown, on the left side at 10 o’clock we have a recessed crown used to adjust the inner bezel. The domed crystal sits above a colourful multi-functional gold-coloured dial, an outer Tachymeter scale highlighting the 15-minute Regate countdown with a monthly calendar planner underneath. To operate you simply rotate the chapter ring until the correct day of the week is lined with 1 at the top of the dial, thereby at a glance, you can see which date a particular day falls in the month. Applied gold-plated baton indexes with black painted centres and tritium lume pips mark the hours, at 3 o’clock a framed date window. At 6 o’clock a 12-hour register and at 9 o’clock a continuous seconds register. Gold-plated hands are complemented by a tapered orange chronograph hand and finally, an orange arrow-pointed hand indicating the monthly date. At 12 o’clock we have the Wakmann motif with Automatic underneath, at 3 o’clock 17 Jewels Shockproof completes this colourful tool watch. On the reverse is a screw-down case back, inside an Automatic Lemania 1341, 17 jewels, 28,800bBeats per hour, this cam-lever chronograph movement was in production from 1972 until 1980, it was also used by the Tissot Cal. 2170 and Omega Cal. 1040/1 movements. The watch comes fitted on a 20mm leather strap.
Personal Note
It's not every day you come across a watch with the Lemania 1341 and it is even more rare that it is in a large gold-plated beast like this awesome Wakmann! This won't be for everyone and that is what I absolutely love about it, it is unapologetically 1970s in its design and execution and suits it perfectly. To some people's surprise, I suspect this won't hang around long at all.
The Brand
Icko Wakmann founded Wakmann Watch Company running the business out of Portugal in 1943 as a distributor of luxury watch brands, he then moved to the US to avoid the tragedies happening in Europe. Opening up at Fifth Avenue 452, New York in 1946, and in 1947 they were listed on the US Stock Exchange. Previously his company ran in New York, he had his own technical workshops where he could process and design his own watches and became an important importer and distributor of watches to the US. During the war years, he manufactured aircraft cockpit clocks to US military specifications and was an official US military supplier. In 1947 Wakmann joined forces with Breitling, forming the Breitling Watch Corporation of America (BWCA) with Icko Wakmann as the company president. Developed their business in importing and from then on co-branded its cock-pit clocks used by the US military and US civilian aircraft. At this time changes to the Import Act in the US meant Wakmann acted as a US-based “assembler”, where he imported incomplete watches and incomplete movements using their workshops; he assembled these timepieces on US soil and was able to avoid the added tax cost per unit which kept their distribution competitive. During the 1950s and 1960s Wakmann produced chronographs and multi-purpose technical watches for engineers, and doctors who needed precise timepieces. Wakmann Watch Company sadly disappeared during the quartz crisis and was incorporated into Breitling by the end of the 1970s.