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This gorgeous men’s timepiece features a handsome
white porcelain enamel dial and a 60 minute checkered outer track border, black steel Breguet-style "Moon Tip" hands
with black enamel Roman numerals and a slightly sunken sub-seconds dial with
'sweep' black steel seconds hand and 60 second outer chapter. Signed TAVANNES WATCH
CO in black enamel lettering below the XII.
The five-piece, triple-hinged case with a made of the highest quality
.875 purity silver. With 'swivel' lugs and onion-style winding crown.
The desirable dust cover inner lid, a true sign of quality MILITARY watch. This was used to protect the mechanism from dust and debris and to provide an extra layer of protection from shock or moisture. Inside first and second lid of the case is serial number #435776. The inside of the outer case lid is signed 84 - 0.875
-Y with Swiss (Berne Bear) silver hallmark and case reference number #435776. This particular dust cover is how its decorated, complete with six medals in the center and signed ANCRE de PRECISION, SRIRAL BREGUET COMPENSATEUR, 15 Rubis. Lifting this lid reveals an inner dust cover lid, also sterling silver.
History of Cyma Watches: Cyma was set up by Frédéric Henri Sandoz usually known as Henri Sandoz,
born in 1851. He founded his company in 1871 Henri Sandoz & Cie which he left in 1891and moved Tavannes and set up the new venture which was to produce simple and complicated watches such as
chronographs. Cyma had 40 staff and 55 modern machinesthat produced 40 watches a day, though at first only some of these had the Cyma name on them.
About 1892 Cyma went into a cooperative agreement with Schwob Frères and Co. of La Chaux-de -Fonds (Tavannes Watch Co. of which Henri was a
director) By 1905 the 750 employees produced 450,000 watches and that became 750,000 by 950 employees in 1909 although some parts were brought in.
During the 1st decade of the 20th century Sandoz continued to be awarded numerous patents. Sandoz, the founder of the company died in 1913. The company continued to grow and by 1938 they were producing 4000 items a day. Some time before the 1930’s the company name changed to
Tavannes-Cyma. This happened when the cooperative agreement was signed. This name continued until 1966 when they ceased production and the rights to the
Cyma name went to the company 'Chronos Holding' Other names the company used
include: Bijou Watch Co - Tacy Watch Co - SA - Lisca SA. Bases around the globe, other that the town of Tavannes
include: La Chaux de Fonds, Le Locle, Geneve and Neuchatel as well as an agency in New York.
Vintage Cyma watches are still most sort after timepiece to this day
The Bear: a silver fineness not accepted in Switzerland but intended for export. Prior to the federal Swiss hallmarking system of the 1880's, hallmarking was conducted under cantonal authority and the several cantons established their own hallmarks. Elsewhere, the more ancient hallmarks of the important watchmaking regions of Geneva, Neuchatel, Schaffhausen and, Zurich are covered.
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How to Care for Antiquarian & Vintage Watches
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Most vintage watches are mechanical.
Repairs are not cheap. Most likely they will require replacement of non-standard parts (unlike
late model
watches)
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Vintage watches should
be handled with care and avoid being dropped as gold cases will dent
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Generally vintage watches
are NOT waterproof. Waterproofing watch cases was not in general production until the middle of the 20th century for most watches. Therefore protect your antique watch from exposure to
moisture
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If your watch becomes wet it should be dried off quickly. Carefully open all covers and use a hair drier to blow dry the movement, dial, covers, crown. This will reduce the amount of
rust
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If your watch becomes wet with any kind of salt water you should immediately immerse or spray your watch with fresh
water to remove all the salt before drying the watch completely
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Winding any mechanical watch tightly
will break the mainspring. Always wind the watch gentle and stop
when the crown springs back
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When adjusting the hands of your watch,
wind in a clockwise direction only. Counter-clockwise adjustments may damage the
movement
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If you must adjust counter-clockwise make it for small adjustments only (i.e. for minutes, NOT
hours)
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Be careful and gentle when adjusting the movement speed (faster or
slower) Don't make sharp movements, and don't touch other components in the movement especially the pendulum
mechanism
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Every 2-3 years it is necessary to service and oil vintage
watches
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When the watch is dirty - allow the watch to run down, don't wind it again until you have it serviced by a qualified watchmaker. Dust will absorb and remove important lubricants and cause the movement pieces to wear
down
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To clean the case, dial and crystal you should use a cloth that does NOT leave fibers as these may get caught in the movement.
Buy an approved watch cloth from a qualified jeweler
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Keep vintage watch away from magnets. Strong magnetic fields may affect the accuracy of your watch since some vintage watches were made with iron based components in the
movement
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Most watch cases are fine components and will not handle abuse well. The watch should not be shaken, beaten, or
stressed
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Vintage watches generally experience an error of up to 5-7 minutes a day. Any accuracy of +- 5 minutes is very
good
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