Lemania. A Stainless Steel Chronograph Wristwatch with Telemeter and Tachometer Scales
Lemania mechanical jewelled movement, black dial with luminous Arabic numerals, luminous hands, outer railway minute divisions with Arabic five-minute indication, outer telemeter scale, two subsidiary dials for 30 minute register and constant seconds, inner spiral tachometer scale, circular case, two oval chronograph buttons in the band, snap back
Circa: 1950s.
38mm
More about Lemania:
Alfred Lugrin was born and raised in Switzerland in the mid-19th Century, and early on started working for various watch companies designing chronograph movements. He founded his own company, called A. Lugrin S.A. in 1884, and enjoyed much success. Known for his innovative chronograph movements, Albert patented one of the movements (Brevet No. 359) and started to win awards for his designs.
In 1918, the Lemania Watch Company was created, and soon after in 1920 Alfred’s son-in-law Marius Meylan became the managing director. In 1932 Meylan purchased the Lemania company and would continue to market watches and movements under that name.
One of Lemania’s most well known movements was adopted by Omega for their chronographs, chosen for its shock protection and anti-magnetic balance spring. Introduced first in 1946 as the caliber 321, Omega went on to use this legendary caliber in its Speedmaster models. With the international recognition from the Omega Speedmaster as the first watch worn on the moon, Lemania’s chronograph movements began to appear in watches produced by Audemars Piguet, Breitling, and Patek Philippe, among others.
Over the next several decades, the ownership of Lemania changed hands several times, finally becoming part of the Swatch Group through their purchase of Breguet. Their movements are still used today in many Breguet watches.
The present watch is a fine example of a Lemania chronograph with a Lemania-signed dial. With both tachometer and telemeter scales, a crisp steel case, and beautifully aged luminous numerals and hands, the present vintage chronograph is a well-preserved specimen and will appeal to both novice and experienced watch collectors.