For sale we have a quality watch from the early 1950s, manufactured by Richard. It has a well-made 34.5mm case with beefy lug design, a signed crown, a well-designed dial and a quality automatic movement. The watch has a sweep central second which is painted red and stands out nicely. This is very much a precision watch, with sporty undertones and durability.
 
Richard were known as Richard SA, Morges/Saint-Jean in 1949, and were later known as Richard SA for automatics and chronographs, in 1966. They produced good quality automatic watches and chronographs throughout the 1950s. We have sold multiple Richard watches over the years, and they are always of good quality for the era, with Stainless or gold cases, with signed crowns, well signed case backs and good quality movements. 
 
The dial is excellent, with its classic silver satin tone. It is clear and legible with a detailed outer minute/second scale, with 1/5 second graduations. These have radium lume plots to aid legibility. The Arabic numerals are applied in a silver tone and standout clearly, whilst having very good finishing. The dial is signed Richard Automatic, 17 jewels. The automatic signing is red which matches neatly with the red central second hand. The central second hand has a neat lollipop counterbalance. The Lance-Alpha hands have the original lume and show signs of corrosion associated with the age of the watch.
 
The case measures 34.5mm x 34.5mm with a lug-to-lug measurement of 43mm. This makes it quite a big watch for the era and therefore a vintage watch more in-fitting with modern tastes and proportions. The 43mm lug-to-lug measurement adds significant presence to the watch on the wrist. It has chunky circular case, with strong lug design, like that of Omegas Beefy lug Seamaster. The screwback is very well made with clean signing, including proudly stating the anti-magnetic, shockproof, water-resistant, and automatic qualities of the watch. The case was produced by Bielna SA. They were a good quality Swiss case maker and also made cases for Omega. 
 
Inside it has a dust cover over the movement, a feature found in well-made water-resistant watches of the era. Inside is the AS calibre 1361N movement, which is a good quality and early mass-produced automatic calibre. It has Richards typical circular finishing which is unusual and eye-catching. It has the benefit of shock proofing, with the sweep central second and anti-magnetic properties. It keeps great time to within +15 seconds a day, with a strong amplitude of 275 and no beat error.
 
A well-made and well-designed watch from a lesser-known maker. We always love Richard watches and hopefully you can see why. They are a hidden gem.
 
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 very good condition for the age. It has a good even tone and no real signs of ageing. 
 
Hands: 
The hands are original and of luminous Lance Alpha style, in average condition. They are free of bending but do have corrosion to the silver tone. It has the original lume in-fill. The red painted central second hand is 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. It is signed Richard. 
 
Case:
The case is Stainless Steel and is in good condition. It has been a light polished finish and has surface scratching and some nicks, associated with age. It maintains its original finishing and hasn’t been polished. 
 
Caseback:
The Stainless-Steel screw back is in good condition. It has circular brushing to the main face, with sunburst finish and polished outside. It has some light surface scratching associated with ageing. The engraving is clear.
 
Strap: 
The watch is on a genuine leather strap which is in good lightly worn condition.
 
Movement:
The movement is an AS 1361N which is an automatic calibre, with sweep second and detached manual wind. It has a jewel count of 17, with a frequency of 18,000 BPH and a power-reserve of 38 hours.
 
The service history is unknown but the movement is in good condition functionally and cosmetically. It keeps time to within +15 seconds a day, with an amplitude of 275 and a beat error of 0.0 m/s.
 
Case Dimensions:
Case width: 34.5mm
Case width with crown: 37mm 
Case length: 34.5mm 
Case length lug to lug: 43mm
Case Depth: 12mm
Lug width: 18mm