Description
Triple date chronograph by Le Phare in outstanding condition
Very rare pink gold chronograph watch with a full calendar movement and splendid enamel dial. The watch dates back to the 1950’s and is powered by the famous valjoux 72c movement. Many watch manufactures made watches during the 1950’s with this same movement and dial layout, many parts like dials, hands etc. are supplied by the same manufacturers for different brands. Brands producing similar chronograph calendar watches are; Aristo, Rolex, Mathey-Tissot, Heuer and many more.
So there are many brands which produced similar watches. The main differences between the watches from the various brands is the quality of the dial and finishing of the movement. The LePhare wristwatch we offer for sale has some very interesting features and belongs to the top quality examples in the segment of valjoux powered Triple Date calendars. We found no other example online in the same quality so there isn’t many reference material on this watch.
The LePhare company has been a well known manufacturer in the 19th century. They build complex movements like; Minute Repeaters, Split Second chronographs and other complicated (pocket) watches. In the 20th century the brand did not produce many watches, this example is one of the few pieces produced in the 1950’s. Later one of the major watch brands at the time (universal geneve) took over the company in the 1960’s.
Some features about this LePhare triple date chronograph we want to highlight.
- The dial of this LePhare is absolutely gorgeous, the dial is manufactured by Stern who also produced watch dials for Patek Philippe and Rolex. This particular dial is enamel baked, all typography and numbers on the dial are written with different color enamel paint and baked in the oven after. The production of enamel dials like this is often seen by the most high-end brands as Patek Philippe and Vacheron Constantin. Because of the baking process the color and typography is still bright after all these years. The fact this LePhare chronograph has an enamel dial made by the Stern Company makes it a high-end 1950’s example of watchmaking.
- What is a watch without a decent watch case ? The makers of this watch did their job very well. They outsourced the making of the case by the Jacques Beiner company from St. Imier. It has a 37mm case made out of 18k rosé gold, the beautiful faceted lugs are well balanced with the pushers and have a protective function too. The case shows minimal signs of wearing and the rose gold color is a lust for the eye.
- A valjoux 13′ 72c calendar movement is running inside. This movement is used at various brands and again the differences within these watches made in the 1950’s is the finishing of the various parts inside. All parts of this particular movement are faceted and polished on a high level. Various parts of the movement have been hardened (blued steel) for longer durability. Of course the watch is running well and all functions are working properly.
It’s impossible to capture the beauty of this enamel dial on a picture but we tried, on the pictures the gloss layer from the enamel painting is clearly visible but we can show it even better in a small video. Don’t hesitate to contact us for a video, high resolution pictures or other questions.
Watch Details
LePhare Triple Date Calendar (dato-compax)
18k Rosé gold case
37mm case size (without the crown)
Enamel dial made by Stern SA
valjoux 72c movement 13′
full original condition
