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Art Deco Wristwatches
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Art Deco wristwatches were Art Deco before the term was coined in 1925, making them forerunners of a style rather than mere followers of a fad. The first Art Deco wristwatch, the Cartier Tank, arrived in 1919. Its square dial featured scant...
Art Deco wristwatches were Art Deco before the term was coined in 1925, making them forerunners of a style rather than mere followers of a fad. The first Art Deco wristwatch, the Cartier Tank, arrived in 1919. Its square dial featured scant decoration, aside from the rows and columns of blocky Roman numerals that marked its perimeter. Lugs at the top and bottom of the case gave the watch a rectangular profile, echoing the appearance of the tracks on the Renault tanks that proved so effective in battle during World War I. As such, the Tank was a minimalist masterpiece of Art Deco design, setting an aesthetic standard for several decades of Art Deco timepieces.
Besides Cartier, some of the most recognized manufacturers of Art Deco wristwatches for both men and women included Elgin, Omega, Waltham, Patek Philippe, Bulova, Vacheron & Constantin, Rolex, Hamilton, IWC, Longines, and Gruen. For these manufacturers and many others, the elements of a good Art Deco wristwatch were about more than its design. The materials used in these vintage wristwatches were also important. Thus, stainless steel was frequently selected for their cases, giving the wristwatches a machine-age appearance.
Natural materials such as lapis lazuli were also common, as in some early Tiffany watches of this period. Similarly, although many wristwatches of the Art Deco era were cased in gold, silver was more common, owing in part to the comparatively lower cost of the metal to budget-conscious consumers during the Great Depression. That said, platinum and white gold were also used. As for the dials, they were often rendered in two tones, giving these antique wristwatches an expensive look.
Continue readingArt Deco wristwatches were Art Deco before the term was coined in 1925, making them forerunners of a style rather than mere followers of a fad. The first Art Deco wristwatch, the Cartier Tank, arrived in 1919. Its square dial featured scant decoration, aside from the rows and columns of blocky Roman numerals that marked its perimeter. Lugs at the top and bottom of the case gave the watch a rectangular profile, echoing the appearance of the tracks on the Renault tanks that proved so effective in battle during World War I. As such, the Tank was a minimalist masterpiece of Art Deco design, setting an aesthetic standard for several decades of Art Deco timepieces.
Besides Cartier, some of the most recognized manufacturers of Art Deco wristwatches for both men and women included Elgin, Omega, Waltham, Patek Philippe, Bulova, Vacheron & Constantin, Rolex, Hamilton, IWC, Longines, and Gruen. For these manufacturers and many others, the elements of a good Art Deco wristwatch were about more than its design. The materials used in these vintage wristwatches were also important. Thus, stainless steel was frequently selected for their cases, giving the wristwatches a machine-age appearance.
Natural materials such as lapis lazuli were also common, as in some early Tiffany watches of this period. Similarly, although many wristwatches of the Art Deco era were cased in gold, silver was more common, owing in part to the comparatively lower cost of the metal to budget-conscious consumers during the Great Depression. That said, platinum and white gold were also used. As for the dials, they were often rendered in two tones, giving these antique wristwatches an expensive look.
Art Deco wristwatches were Art Deco before the term was coined in 1925, making them forerunners of a style rather than mere followers of a fad. The first Art Deco wristwatch, the Cartier Tank, arrived in 1919. Its square dial featured scant decoration, aside from the rows and columns of blocky Roman numerals that marked its perimeter. Lugs at the top and bottom of the case gave the watch a rectangular profile, echoing the appearance of the tracks on the Renault tanks that proved so effective in battle during World War I. As such, the Tank was a minimalist masterpiece of Art Deco design, setting an aesthetic standard for several decades of Art Deco timepieces.
Besides Cartier, some of the most recognized manufacturers of Art Deco wristwatches for both men and women included Elgin, Omega, Waltham, Patek Philippe, Bulova, Vacheron & Constantin, Rolex, Hamilton, IWC, Longines, and Gruen. For these manufacturers and many others, the elements of a good Art Deco wristwatch were about more than its design. The materials used in these vintage wristwatches were also important. Thus, stainless steel was frequently selected for their cases, giving the wristwatches a machine-age appearance.
Natural materials such as lapis lazuli were also common, as in some early Tiffany watches of this period. Similarly, although many wristwatches of the Art Deco era were cased in gold, silver was more common, owing in part to the comparatively lower cost of the metal to budget-conscious consumers during the Great Depression. That said, platinum and white gold were also used. As for the dials, they were often rendered in two tones, giving these antique wristwatches an expensive look.
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