While Wittnauer certainly isn’t one of the commonly known watch brands, it certainly has the history to rival just about any other out there. Founded in 1885 in New York by Swiss immigrant Albert Wittnauer, the eponymous company set out to craft timepieces designed for exploration and adventure, especially in aviation and sea navigation. In fact, Neil Armstrong wore a Wittnauer for the Gemini 8 mission.

The Wittnauer and Longines relationship dates back to the 1800s when Wittnauer became the official US distributor for Longines watches. Then, in the 1950s Longines actually purchased Wittnauer and the two brands worked harmoniously to produce some of the most beautiful wristwatches of the mid 21st century, most notably their chronographs.

The Wittnauer Chronograph ref. 3256 is the perfect representation of the Longines x Wittnauer relationship. A watch that spared no expense with its beautiful case design, intricate beveling, unique handset, and "exotic" multi-tonal dial that's full of blues and greys with pops of red throughout. 

SPECS

CASE & BRACELET

The beautiful case is exceptionally well-preserved, with multi-angle lugs that are believed to be unpolished and exhibit light wear from use. The case retains its original pump pushers and Wittnauer signed crown. The case back is also in excellent condition showing no major signs of use and only light tooling marks. The watch comes supplied on a 2pc handmade leather strap.

DIAL & HANDS

The original and colorful dial is in near-flawless condition, with only the slightest marks of age. The dial is split into thirds, with the top and bottom thirds being a medium grey, and the middle third featuring the white subdials and a blue center square where the handset anchors. The tachometer is a dark blue for the first quarter, and black for the remainder of it. The painted blue sub-dial hands coordinate with the dial, and the second hand adds a nice pop of red to complement some of the other red markers across the dial. The tritium lume plots have achieved a gorgeous golden patina and only exhibit degradation in the 3 and 9 o'clock plots which is very common for this dial. The original and unique "window-style" tritium hands match the dial perfectly with no degradation present under UV light inspection.

ACCESSORIES 

None. The watch is keeping time, the previous service history is unknown. A movement service can be provided upon request.