History of BWC Swiss Watches:
BWC Swiss Stands for Buttes Watch Company (BWC), before you pronounce the full name of this watch to your English speaking friends, incorrectly, and allow them to crack jokes. Please be sure to know that Buttes is pronounced with a "U" like in the adjective sure and the noun brochure. The last three letters "T-E-S" are left silent (you can thank me later for that one).
BWC was found in 1924 by Mr. Arthur Charlet, in his birthplace, Buttes, a Swiss village in remote Val de Travers valley, close to the French border. The “Val de Travers”, is a beautiful tranquil high-lying valley well known for watchmakers in the 18th century.
The company met with great success until the 1980’s quartz crisis within the swiss mechanical watch world, which it barely survived before being overtaken in 1991. Manufacturing was then moved to Swiss-German Solothurn canton and commercial activities assigned to Reek GmbH in Pforzheim, Germany. The company was absorbed by Maddox Ag of Pforzheim in 1999 and placed under the control of Stark watches of Pforzheim in 2003.
The company still continues under the original name of BWC and attends Baselworld to show off its watches to the watch geeks of the world!
Since 1924, BWC Swiss has earned recognized reputation for its excellence in watch making. Through all the years, their primary objective has been to offer Swiss precision craftsmanship, timely design and outstanding technology at an affordable price. A philosophy that is clearly tangible with the watch you are now looking at!
About this watch:
Nearly forgotten watches from prestigious Swiss watch manufacturers (BWC in this case) from the 18th century and beyond are my favourite type of watches to discover. They offer a pedigree that is undervalued massively, both in terms of the design, history and quality of the watches. They are rarer and I would argue often far more interesting than a lot of vintage (and modern) watches 10 times their price, this to me is a very exciting prospect in a vintage watch.
This BWC Vintage Diver watch is in exceptional condition, the case bares signs of use over the years; however, nothing you would expect from a watch made in the 1970's and now being nearly 50 years old. Someone has clearly looked after this watch with great love and care.
The lume remains a stunning custard colour that I admire so much. The square edge silver hands and arrow style second hand contrast beautifully against the black dial backdrop. The BWC logo is in great condition as you can see from the macro shots as well as the white indices on the edge of the rail of the dial.
Probably my favourite part of this watch, is the blue rotating bezel which against the black dial and custard lume looks amazing!
It has a brand new brown handmade strap made from 100% genuine leather obtained from Pittards in Somerset (UK), it is specifically tailored to this watch with black stitching that matches the dial tone. It feels great, will age gorgeously and will mould perfectly to your wrist!
At its beating heart is a ETA Calibre 2788, 17 Jewel Automatic Movement with a quick-set date window at 6 o'clock, we have rigorously tested this watch and the movement is keeping accurate time and the date window working as it should do.
CASE: Watch case is in superb condition - some fading; however, this adds to the vintage look.
DIAL: Amazing condition.
BACK CASE: Great condition - a few miner scratches.
CROWN: Fair condition, plating worn away slightly, as shown.
CRYSTAL: Great condition - few scratches; however, not noticeable whilst the watch is being worn.
OVERALL CONDITION: Has been tested, cleaned and checked over and is in excellent working order.
PRESENTATION: Presented in a vintage style presentation box, great for a gift or to simply keep the watch in.
AUTHENTICITY: Certification provided upon request.
Technical Specs:
CASE SIZE: 38mm to crown (35mm without crown).
STRAP SIZE: 18mm at lugs.
CASE MATERIAL: Stainless Steel Case and Caseback.
BRACELET: Brand New Handmade Brown Premium Leather Strap with Black Stitching, crafted in the UK.
Shipping:
Worldwide shipping available, all items are shipped fully insured and sent as priority mail.
For outside of the EU customs or import charges will be paid by the customer (if applied).
T&C's:
The watch is guaranteed to be in full functioning good working condition when it is posted from our store.
For your peace of mind Wilberforce Watches offers a 30 day mechanical limited warranty for all watches, please see full terms and conditions for full details, available at email request.
Whether it be two days after the sale or two years, please let us know the issue as we have got your back. However please bear in mind that due to the nature of vintage watches, we do expect reasonable treatment of all watches by their new owners. So, no cave diving or base jumping please.
