1940s Fears Curved Rectangular tank dress watch, model 7015, with rolled gold case and silvered dial.
 
This example is a classic dress watch, taking much inspiration from the Art Deco period, which is reflected in the tank style case and curvature. The case consists of a rolled gold finish, which is a form of plating, which is harder wearing and thicker than standard plating. The silvered dial with neat black Arabic numerals contrasts beautifully with the case and adds to the high-end design of this piece. The gold coin edge crown is a particularly appealing, subtle touch which further increases the class of this watch.
 
This example dates to 1946 with an original purchase price of £10-10-6, which is approximately £442 in today’s money.
 
The glass is original, fitting the curved nature of the watch perfectly by being a complex curve spanning vertically and horizontally. 
 
The dial is signed “Fears” at 12 O’clock with “Swiss made” at 6 O’clock. The Fears font is the same as the font used today.
 
The sub-second dial is square, in-fitting with the shape of the watch and the dial overall. The track has individual second denominations, alongside alternating Arabic and baton 5 second markers. The sub-second hand is thermally blued and is original, fitting the margin neatly.
 
The dial has a bold minute track situated around the outside, with black Arabic numerals neatly cascading down the sides, with 12 neatly placed above the Fears logo. The dial is balanced with the sub-second dial taking the place of the 6 numeral. 
 
The hands are original and of the Sword style with a deep thermally Blued finish.
 
The movement is a High Grade, tonneau shaped, SA Ebauche movement which is manually wound. 
 
The watch sits neatly on its handmade Bristol Leather Fears strap for fixed lugs. The calf leather has been vegetable tanned in Britain’s oldest Vegetable tannery, Bristol’s Thomas Ware & Sons. Carefully designed to reflect the original leather straps of the era, in a common dark Brown tone, with no padding. 
 
This classy example will come nestled in an official Fears box, in “Fears Bristol Blue” with cream interior. Upon opening, you will be greeted by a Fears owner club leaflet, alongside Bold Timepieces card, and a beautiful heritage inspired Fears cleaning cloth. This cleaning cloth depicts the original Edwin Fear business card, dating back to 1846.
 
Accompanying this will be an extract from the Fears archive, detailing the specifics of this example.
 
This beautiful rectangular tank watch really does speak for itself, with a single image of it doing a lot of the job of hard selling. Utterly classy and elegantly understated.
 
Dial:
The dial is in very good condition. All signing and tracks are clean and without wear. 
The dial tone is as it should be, and it clean. There is some marking just above the sub-second dial but this does not detract from the overall clean condition.
 
Hands:
The hands are original and of the Sword style with a deep thermally Blued finish. The blue tone is strong.
 
Glass:
The original crystal remains in excellent condition.
 
Crown:
The watch has its original crown, which has a lovely design and coin edge finish.
 
Case:
The Rolled Gold case is in good condition, with no serious losses of gold plating. There are some areas of slight wear to the finish, but this is still gold, just less rich in tone. There are multiple light surface scratches too.
 
Caseback:
The case back is formed of Stainless Steel and is in very good condition with original grained finish.
 
Strap:
Brand new, Handmade using Bristol Leather. The calf leather has been vegetable tanned in Britain’s oldest Vegetable tannery, Bristol’s Thomas Ware & Sons. Carefully designed to reflect the original leather straps of the era, in a common dark Brown tone, with no padding. 
 
The strap will fit up to a 7.5” wrist diameter. The watch is modelled on a 7” wrist circumference to give a clear idea of the proportions.
 
NOTE: Each strap is customized to the lug design and size. 
A new custom strap can be created for the watch, in Fears Bristol Blue. This will be at a cost of £125 inclusive of VAT and will have a manufacturing time of approximately 4 weeks.
 
Movement:
A freshly serviced High Grade, tonneau shaped, SA Ebauche movement which is manually wound. It has been assessed and serviced by the Fears Team to ensure excellent reliability. 
 
Case dimensions:
The case is well proportioned and very wearable with a good lug to lug length adding to its presence. 
 
Case width: 31mm
Case width with crown: 33.7mm
Case length: 31mm
Case length lug to lug: 38.5mm
Case Depth: 10mm
Lug width: 16mm