Vintage Personalized 14k Gold and Diamond Wittnauer Wrist Watch with Fiber Bland - AS IS. Marked on the back of the casing, along with the inscription "To Mary... with all my love. Charles. 9.8.51." 

Condition: Visible wear and tear. Not working. 

Size: 7 x 1/2 in. 

Albert Wittnauer was a Swiss immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1872 at the age of 16, and was employed by his brother-in-law, Eugene Robert, an importer of Swiss watches. The first Wittnauer’s watch line was crafted starting from 1880, but the Wittnauer brand was formally established 1888 when Wittnauer took over Robert’s company and renamed it the A. Wittnauer Company. They expanded once the United States Navy selected their instruments for early tests in the fields of aviation and navigation, acquiring a production plant in Puerto Rico, and when the last Wittnauer brother died in 1916 their sister Martha Wittnauer took over the company, becoming the first female CEO of a watchmaking company in the United States. Wittnauer pieces were used by aviators like Amelia Armstrong and favored by astronauts, particularly Neil Armstrong, but after booms during World War I and II the company fell on hard times, and they were bought by the Swiss company Longines in 1950, who marketed watches under them and their own name for many years afterwards. In 1995 Swatch took over Longines distribution, with  the remnants of Wittnauer bought out by Bulova for over $11 million in 2001, and today they are under the umbrella of the Japanese conglomerate Citizen Watch Co., with their headquarters in New Rochelle one of the oldest remaining facilities of its kind in the state of New York.

Visible wear and tear. Not working. 

All items are sold AS IS. Lot and condition details are for descriptive purposes only. Sarasota Estate Auction is not responsible for errors and/or omissions of condition. The absence of a condition report does not imply that the lot is perfect or free from wear, flaws, or characteristics of age. Please bid according to your own expertise, or request any additional information and/or photographs you deem necessary.