The House of Gübelin started with a small watchmaker’s workshop by Mauritz Breitschmid in Lucerne, Switzerland back in 1854. In the 1920s, they began setting up their own jewellery atelier and gemmological laboratory. Almost 170 years later, Gübelin still stands as a reowned family-owned retailer for watches, jewellery, and gemstones, with branches in Switzerland, Hong Kong and New York.

This present vintage wristwatch is a rare find that is signed and retailed by E. Gübelin. It has a charming champagne radium dial embellished by oxidation marks which emits a golden flare from its aging. The radium luminous materials on the dial are still reactive, rendering burnt marks on its surface over time. The dial resonates with the Arabics numerals with luminescent coating, and the luminous hands to give off an attractive sight. The fancy lugs of the watch in particular accentuate the beauty of the watch.

The movement of the watch comes with indirect center seconds, which was a new development for wristwatches beginning in 1940s. Before that, almost all watches had a small seconds sub-sial, normally positioned at the 6 o’clock because of the gear train arrangement on the movement. This wristwatch is a superb example that should not be missed by any vintage watch collectors.