LeJour Chronograph

Year: 1960s

Movement: Leonidas-based chronograph movement

The most unusual detail on this watch: the red chronograph seconds hand has a small window cut into it. As the hand sweeps around the dial, that window aligns with the date track printed underneath — so the date is readable through the hand itself. It's a clever, slightly strange solution to fitting a date display into a chronograph without adding a separate aperture.

History

Before TAG Heuer, there was Heuer. Before Heuer, the company was known as Leonidas — a Swiss manufacturer based in Saint-Imier that was one of the major producers of chronograph movements in the mid-20th century.

In the 1960s, it was common practice for established movement and case manufacturers to supply their designs to smaller brands for sale under different names. LeJour was one such brand. This chronograph is built on the same movement and case that Leonidas sold under their own name — the only difference is what's printed on the dial. It's a window into how the Swiss watch industry actually worked: a relatively small number of manufacturers supplying a much larger number of brands, each presenting essentially the same watch as their own.