Lathin 17J wrist watch, vintage mechanical manual-wind movement, textured off-white metal dial with red and white stone markers, black Reo advertising, gold hands, impressive yellow gold filled (YGF) & stainless steel (SS) rectangular case with fancy bezel and extended lugs, red and white stones also set into the bezel (missing one red stone, otherwise all intact), nice original YGF expansion band with matching rectangular dark red stone inserts on each section does have 1 missing link, can replace with a different expansion or leather band at no charge if desired. Heavy and impressive watch in very good condition!
- Age Description:
02Vintage (1940-1980)
- Company:
Lathin
- Jewels: 1117J
- Setting/Movement Type:
manual-wind
- Dial Material: metal
- Dial Color: ivory/off-white
- Dial Details:
Reo advertising
- Case Style:
rectangular
-
Case Material:
Gold Filled - Yellow, Stainless Steel
- Band Material: metal expansion
- Condition:
Very Good
-
Gender:
Unisex
We have included this watch in our Mechanic's Special section because it is currently in our office queue for maintenance. Often, a cleaning and service is all the watch will need to get it back to the level of running condition we strive for in our active sales catalog. However, on occasion a more serious problem may have presented itself with the watch. If you are interested in more information on the status of this watch, the anticipated maintenance needed on it, or to purchase this watch AS-IS, please
contact us.
If you decide to purchase this watch in its current non-running condition, we do
NOT offer our standard 30-day return on any Mechanic's Special items.
On these items, all sales are AS IS and FINAL.
On all but a few of the advertising logos, mainly Packard from the Hamilton company and Studebaker from South Bend, the logos would have been commissioned through a professional dial company after they left the factory to have the logo applied. For instance, a car dealership might have them added as a promotion, a motorcycle club would have ones done for each of their members, etc.
On the watch/logo combinations that may not match up on a timeline (the watch was made prior to the automobile company being formed, for instance), what we understand could have happened is, say for a car club, the members would need to provide their own watch to which the emblems would be added. Someone might have wanted a Harley logo on "Grandpa Bob's" old pocket watch, and would have had the dial pulled from that. Other than the Packard/Hamilton & Studebaker/South Bend arrangements, it was a free-for-all on the pairings and you could find just about any combination of manufacturer with the different logos.
We do also have a pretty good selection of the vintage dials that have emblems on them, but that are not attached to a watch yet. Often in the past, a customer would want a watch without the advertising, so we would just pull the printed dial and replace it with a similar-style plain dial, then set the printed one aside. If you have something specific you are looking for, please
drop us a note to see if we have anything in our stock that might work for you.
And, if you are interested in this watch without the current advertising dial, please
drop us a note as well. On wrist watches, we can give you a quote on what the current charge to re-finish the dial would be (typically it will run $35 to $75 depending on the dial style). On American-make pocket watches, we may have a replacement dial in stock and could exchange the current dial with an unmarked dial for a small fee. Most European-make watches would need to have the dial refinished to remove the emblem.
Unlike modern quartz watches, most vintage watches need daily winding in order to keep the watch functioning for timekeeping. Additionally, there are a number of different ways to set the time other than simply pulling the crown away from the watch body. We are happy to provide an overview of each of the different setting types on our
"How To Use" page, where we also provide information on proper winding techniques for each style and some suggestions for the proper long term care and storage of your watch.
For your gift giving convenience, please find a consolidated overview of the information on this item, with no reference to the price, on this
printer-optimized page.