For sale we have a standout American made dress watch from the 1940s. This Waltham Premier has an excellent salmon dial, with stylised Arabic numerals. The rectangular case is formed of 18ct rose gold which creates an impressive appearance with the Salmon dial. It is a watch which punches above its weight, with a resemblance to Patek Philippe watches of the period and more recently the Patek Philippe Gondolo.
The salmon tone dial is a lovely tone. Matched with the applied gold tone stylised Arabic numerals, this oozes luxury. It has a simple railroad track around the exterior, with a circular sub second dial with 10 second Arabic graduations. The hands are neat and are in a gold tone matching the hour markers. The dial is signed ‘Waltham Premier’.
The case is particularly desirable for two reasons. It is rose gold, which never goes out of style and stands out over yellow gold. 18ct gold is also incredibly uncommon in the US market, with this likely having been manufactured to contend with the European imports of the period. The case measures 20mm by 29mm, with a lug-to-lug measurement of 38mm. It is a well-proportioned rectangular watch. It is curved, sitting comfortably on the wrist.
The case back is in good condition, with the 18k gold signing. Inside it is signed ‘Waltham Premier’ and is a Wadsworth made case.
The movement is a Waltham Riverside calibre 750, which is a 21-jewel tonneau shaped movement. It is manual wind and has recently been serviced.
Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided.
Dial:
The dial is original and is in decent condition, with some corrosion spots. It has a Salmon satin tone finish which is in good condition. The black tracks and signing are in good condition. The applied gold tone Arabic numerals are in good condition, but have reacted with the dial to create some corrosion spots.
Hands:
The hands appear to be replacements, but are well matched and are in good condition.
Glass:
The crystal is original. It is in good condition with some minor marking.
Crown:
The crown is original and functions well. It has light surface scratching.
Case:
The 18ct gold case is in good original condition. It has a polished finish which has light surface scratching associated with age. It has one more noticeable scratch above 12 O’clock.
Case back:
The case back is formed of 18ct gold and is in decent condition with a polished finish. It has light surface scratching associated with age.
Strap:
The watch comes on a Cartier leather strap which has some wear. It is a good fit to the watch and has life in it.
Movement:
The movement is a Waltham calibre 750. It is a tonneau shaped manual wind movement, with a jewel count of 21.
The watch has recently been serviced. It’s keeping time to within a 1-2 minutes variation a day. The movement had some difficult wear to correct.
Case dimensions:
Case width: 20.25mm
Case width with crown: 21.5mm
Case length: 29mm
Lug to lug: 38mm
Depth: 7.5mm
Lug width: 16mm