Gold plated (rolled gold/30 microns) West End Watch Co Twin Dial C model. A keyless level wrist watch. The target audience for this model would have been craftsmen, military men, doctors, nurses, photographers among others, with its easy to read twin dials.
This Twin Dial C model was manufactured by Longines and distributed and sold under the West End Watch Co. brand name (as explained in more detail in the blog post Longines and Mido Collection)
A catalogue of the model describes the model as having clear easy to read seconds dial, in addition to an hour and minute dial. The West End TWIN DIAL wrist watch has a thousand uses. Professional men and woman such as doctors and nurses - technicians, such as chemists, photographers, engineers - and industrial workers, will find the TWIN DIAL wrist watch an invaluable help in their everyday work. Railway officials, military men and many others constantly need a handy wrist watch which tells time and shows the seconds clearly. This watch meets this need adequately and effectively.
This particular timepiece photographed below would have been manufactured between 1929-1939. It is a Twin Dial C model is rolled gold (30 microns) and would have come with a 10 year guarantee at the time of first purchase.
At some point in its lifespan, a marking/engraving inside (dated 19/6/45) had been made by an owner of the watch. It is hard to establish the name of this model, the year of production or what movement was found inside. But this would certainly be a twin dial manual wounding timepiece. Whether these are two independent functioning dials, or if the second [bottom] dial is only meant to be a seconds/minute display sub-dial, is hard to ascertain. A photo of the movement would not suggest there are two oscillators or a twin/double escapement to the movement. So it is likely to be the latter. It is also evident that the watch had heat-treated blued hands (a method still applied today).
When produced in its era, such a timepiece would have been a fine example of craftsmanship both aesthetic and mechanical.
Below is also a catalogue/brochure of the twin dial model. Can you imagine walking into a watch boutique today and seeing on display watches of such design, sophistication and calibre. Impossible.
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