Election
Chronomètre

Sometimes, a watch doesn't need to bear a coveted name on the dial to be an over-the-top collector's item. That is the case with this Election chronograph, likely produced around the mid 1940s and delivering every imaginable feature for a chronograph of the era.

First and foremost, the dial is an extremely refined and well preserved two-tone black mirror gilt. The gold prints are crisp and legible, and the arabic numerals are designed in a beautiful ornate and dynamic font. Besides the hours and minutes track, the watch features two different scales: the inner one is a telemetre, the outer one is instead tachymetric.

Then, the steel case: oversized for the time, and still very contemporary, it is a sought-after and seldom seen "clamshell" case, meaning that the caseback is not snap-on nor screw-down, but is rather held in place by four screws concealed behind the lugs. Inside the caseback, a "Brevet 189190" inscription confirms that the case is crafted after the original 1937 patent by Schmitz Freres and co.

Finally, the beating heart of this amazing chronograph is a Valjoux 22 movement, one of the most appreciated and technically refined chronographic calibers in history - as much as it was even chosen by Patek Philippe to be the cornerstone of their ébauches, finding its place inside the coveted references 130, 1463, 1579 and so on.