Here's a vintage watch from the 1950's that while not exactly uncommon, is certainly different:

While I know that Jeff has seen a few of these and Craig B. has worked on and sold dozens, I immediately thought of the Futurematic when the theme was posted a few days ago.

What makes these watches unusual is that this is the first automatic watches made without a crown. There is a disc in the back of the watch which causes the watch to stop (or "hack") and allows the hands to move. Also, there is a hook and peg system on the movement that grabs the rotor when the watch is fully wound to prevent overwinding. I don't think this type of system was ever tried by any other manufacturer, before or since.

There is a more information on the Futurematic at this website:

http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/breakwater/13/future.html

Here is the movement on the pictured watch:

The movement has been verified by Jaeger-LeCoultre to have been produced in 1952, as a US market LeCoultre. This is interesting, as JLC literature always mentions the introduction date of this watch as 1953 and the advertisement in the picture is from Life Magazine in late 1951.

This particular example is usually accurate to within 1 sec. per day, starting up from a dead stop. In my experience, this is unusual for an automatic. I wanted to get it cleaned and adjusted after purchase, but it is so accurate, I'm reluctant to have it touched. I've managed to obtain a new cal. 497 rotor, which will also wait for installation.

Most of my conventional automatics tend to be a little erratic starting from a totally unword state and are far more accurate after being worn for awhile.

I also own an example of the "Porthole" style, which was introduced a few years later:

The caliber 497 and 817 movements on these are pretty much identical, with only some monor changes in parts relating to the subdials.

Great theme for today, Jeff.

Take care,
gatorcpa