A cushion cased GMT chronograph with cool hands and a two-tone bezel. If you’re anything like us, this watch will be hard to resist.
Wittnauer may not be around anymore, but Longine’s old sister company produced many fine Swiss watches in a fruitful partnership throughout the second half of the 20th century. This Chronograph GMT hails from that era, and it features everything collectors like to see in a late 60s/early 70s sports watch. Powered by the venerable Valjoux 72 manually wound chrono movement with added GMT functionality, and finished with a case, dial and hands of similarly high quality, the Wittnauer can go toe to toe with an of the era’s most collectible watches. The Mercedes handset looks downright fantastic, and who doesn’t love a faded Coke bezel? No one.
Some collectors refer to the Wittnauer as a “Poor Man’s Heuer”, since it is strikingly similar to the automatic Autavia GMTs, but we’re of two minds as to whether that’s a good way to categorize this watch. On one hand, both this and the Autavia are beautiful watches, and since the Wittnauer trades for half the price of the Autavia, it represents somewhat of a bargain. On the other hand, with the highest quality components of the day and an excellent pedigree of its own, the Wittnauer needs no comparison for collectors to be able to appreciate and desire it.
However you slice it, the Chrono GMT is a worthy addition to any collection, and quite the rare bird these days. Excellent examples, or for that matter, any example, are seldom available to buy, so don’t miss your chance to pick up one of the coolest vintage chronos out there.
