Record was founded in 1903 by a group of businessmen looking to sell the Sector watch, a triangular pocket watch with retrograde. In the 1920s the brand began to produce wrist watches with in-house movements, becoming one of the top Swiss brands in the early 20th century. Record began producing high quality chronographs in the 1930s and in the 1940s provided one of the famous dirty dozen watches to the British military. The Datofix was a triumph released in 1949, a complicated calendar moonphase watch made in house. The brand was acquired by Longines in the early 1960s and continued as an independent brand under the Longines umbrella.
 
A quality brand which produces varied and high-grade watches with interesting design. They already have a strong field of collectors for the more complicated models, but we see the In-house bumper autos as just as worthy as collecting.
 
For sale we have an excellent circa 1950 Record Geneve Bumper Automatic watch. This is a hybrid watch, capable of being worn for sports or dress purposes. A jack of all trades, which is of course more suitable as a dress watch due to its age. It has an eye-catching salmon dial with lumed Arabic numerals and a neat 34mm Stainless Steel case with sturdy lugs and curved sides. The screwback case is good, with an in-house calibre 162 shock protected bumper automatic movement.
 
The case is signed internally, Mod.Depose Record Watch Co Geneva. It is a good quality Stainless Steel case with proudly positioned signing on the inside of the case. The 34mm case width seems on the small side, but with the chunky crown it is 36.5mm wide and the lug-to-lug measurement is 40mm, adding to the presence of the watch on the wrist. To the rear is an excellent and clean screwback, with the reference 134-1 engraved.
 
The salmon dial is exceptional, in very clean condition. It has a bright light bronze tone with a well-balanced design. There is a clear minute/second track around the exterior, graduated to 1/5s of a second. Inside are the Arabic numerals with original radium lume in-fill which has aged to a dark tone. The dial is simply signed Record Geneve, with automatic, anti-magnetic signed in red which is a neat touch against the salmon tone. It has a satin shine which catches the light. 
 
Inside is the in-house Record calibre 162 movement which is an early bumper automatic. It has a high jewel count of 20, with a frequency of 18,000 BPH and Incaboc shock protection. It is keeping time to within 30 seconds a day.
 
Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
 
Dial: 
The dial is original and is in good condition for the age. It has only a slight mark towards one o’clock from a radium burn from the hand. There are some light surface scratches. There is slight lume loss on the 5 O’clock marker.
 
Hands: 
The hands are original and of luminous syringe style, in average condition. They have some signs of discolouration from the original bronze tone. They have been relumed. The central second hand is also original. 
 
Glass: 
It is a replacement acrylic crystal which is in good condition with no noticeable marking.
 
Crown: 
The crown is original and is made of Stainless Steel in good condition.  
 
Case:
The case is made of Stainless Steel and is in good condition. It has been polished, with a brushed finish to the sides and a polished front of the case. It has some light surface scratching associated with wear. 
 
Caseback:
The screw back is in very good condition. It has circular brushing to the main face and polished outside. It has some light surface scratching associated with ageing. The engraving is clear. 
 
Strap: 
The watch is on a new old stock 18mm pig sin leather strap. It will fit any wrist size.
 
Movement:
The movement is a Record 162. It is an early bumper automatic from 1950. It has a jewel count of 20, with a frequency of 18,000 BPH. It also has incabloc shock protection. 
 
The service history is unknown, and the watch has not been serviced by ourselves. However, it is in good condition. It is keeping time to +30 seconds a day, with an amplitude of 315 degrees and a beat error of 0.3m/s.
 
Case dimensions: 
Case width: 34mm
Case width with crown: 36.5mm 
Case length: 34.5mm 
Case length lug to lug: 40mm
Case Depth: 12.75mm
Lug width: 18mm