Orig. Excelsior Park rare submarine torpedo running time artillery stopwatch WW2

Original Excelsior Park, extremely rare and sought-after export example of an early torpedo running time clock of the Allied forces of the Second World War with typical overhead indirect second and onion crown as usual with the ship's clocks of the Kriegsmarine in the late 1930s, see Knirim p. 256ff

The Swiss military and precision watch manufacturer Excelsior Park was and is known for its extremely high-quality chronographs and stopwatches, especially before and during World War II. Since Excelsior Park was a Swiss manufacturer, unlike Junghans, Hanhart, Kienzle, and others, this manufacturer naturally supplied not only the German Wehrmacht but also the Allied World War II opponents.

What makes this rare piece particularly rare and authentic is its dial, specially developed for submarine use, with a tachymeter scale precisely calibrated to the torpedoes, starting at 3,000 meters—the maximum distance of a submarine from the ship being attacked—then running down to 0 meters, the torpedo impact point. If no beep was heard on the torpedo travel time stopwatch after this time, the commander knew he had missed and needed to reload.

Above are a few sample photos of these very special Torpedo-running watches from Konrad Knirim's "Bible of Military Watches." It's clear that these also came from Junghans and Hanhart on the German side (the photos show a Hanhart with an identical dial/scale layout according to the Kriegsmarine's specifications).

A super rare piece of military and naval watch history, which only very rarely comes onto the market

Description:

The 100% original Torpedo running time watch, stop watch has the usual dimensions for the Navy: 50mm case diameter, white dial with top, indirect second and a chip, onion crown, side slider to start the stop function, strangely enough, this is triggered by the slider and not by the crown, which only sets to zero

Sparkling clean, signed movement with Excelsior Park-typical spare parts compartment, three-lid clock, both lids close absolutely flush and rock solid

The stopwatch is fully functional! The signed movement is spotless, the case and crystal show barely noticeable signs of age or wear, and the unrestored dial is in pristine condition.

EZ: 1 - 2, excellent collector's condition, barely noticeable signs of age or wear. Winds smoothly, starts and runs smoothly, accuracy not tested.

History of the military and precision watch manufacturer Excelsior Park:

Swiss watchmaking

Excelsior Park was founded in 1866 by Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret in Saint-Imier as the watchmaking business JF Jeanneret. In 1888, Jeanneret's three sons took over the company. Samuel Jeanneret continued to run the older company Veuve Jules-Frédéric Jeanneret. Albert Jeanneret then founded Albert Jeanneret & Frères and in March 1891 Albert Jeanneret applied for a patent for a chronograph. In 1893 he left the factory to his sons Henri Jeanneret-Brehm and Constant Jeanneret-Droz who separated again in 1902. Henri continued the company under the name Jeanneret-Brehm & Cie. Constant initially worked on his own account and in 1912 bought the Leonidas watch factory.

When the heyday of timepieces for sports enthusiasts began in the 1930s, the company launched a very wide range of timepieces under the brand name Exelsior Park, also using chronograph calibers from other Swiss manufacturers. The company was so successful with this range that it began developing its own calibers. These successes and numerous awards testify to its high status. Excelsior Park also supplied chronograph movements for companies such as Gallet & Co. , Zenith , and Girard-Perregaux.