Ernest Borel
Small Seconds
A characterful 1940s Ernest Borel hand-wound small-seconds watch with extensive patina, offered as a service project.
- Movement
- Swiss hand-wound mechanical movement (exact caliber unknown)
- Current Market Value
- $50
- Year
- c. 1940s (exact year not confirmed)
- Case
- Silver-tone metal (exact material not confirmed)
- Size
- To be measured mm
- Condition
- Fair
- Gender
- Men / Unisex
Condition
Fair vintage condition with extensive age-related patina and deterioration across the dial, numerals and hands. The case shows visible wear consistent with the age of the watch. The watch is currently not running and needs a full service. It is fitted with a later brown leather strap that is not original to the watch.
A vintage Ernest Borel hand-wound wristwatch, probably dating from around the 1940s, with Arabic numerals and a traditional subsidiary-seconds register at 6 o'clock.
The watch has clearly lived a long life. Its dial has developed extensive patina and deterioration, while the Arabic numerals, period hands and small-seconds layout preserve the character of an early Swiss wristwatch.
Ernest Borel is a historic Swiss manufacturer whose origins date to 1856. This watch belongs to an earlier and much more traditional period of the company's wristwatch production.
I have not opened the watch, so the exact caliber, case reference and case material remain unconfirmed rather than guessed.
The watch is currently not running and needs a full service, so it should be considered a service or restoration project. It is fitted with a non-original brown leather strap.
Dial: silver-tone dial with Arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds at 6 o'clock Functions: hours, minutes and subsidiary seconds Crystal: likely acrylic (not confirmed) Strap: brown leather strap (not original to the watch)