This is a handsome early-to-mid 1950s Wittnauer dress watch powered by the Wittnauer 11ESB (ETA 1080) manual-wind movement, freshly serviced and regulated for reliable everyday wear. With a bright silver dial, gilt details, and a compact 33mm case that wears larger thanks to its sculptural lugs, it delivers that classic mid-century look in a very wearable, practical package.
The case pairs a base-metal clamshell body with a 10K gold-filled bezel and a stainless steel screwback, creating a crisp two-material construction that was a hallmark of quality mid-century daily-wear watches. The standout design element is the lug architecture: dramatic, swooping vintage lugs with a cutaway profile that gives the watch a distinctive, almost floating stance on the strap. The dial is a clean silver tone with applied gold-tone markers and Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9, with a neat outer minute track that keeps the overall look balanced and intentional. A new crystal has been installed for clear, distortion-free viewing while maintaining the correct vintage profile.
Inside is the Wittnauer 11ESB, a signed Wittnauer variant of the ETA 1080 family, introduced around 1950 and widely respected for its straightforward, serviceable construction and strong everyday performance. In this configuration it is a traditional three-hand manual-wind movement with a classic 18,000 bph cadence and a typical power reserve in the ~40-hour range.
Movement: Wittnauer 11ESB (ETA 1080 base)
Winding: Manual wind
Jewels: 17
Frequency: 18,000 bph
Power reserve (typical): approx. 40 hours
Display: Central sweep seconds
This watch has been fully serviced and regulated and is running well. A new crystal was installed during restoration. Overall presentation is strong, with light, honest wear consistent with age and a very attractive combination of warm gold tones against the clean silver dial.
Brand: Wittnauer
Movement: Wittnauer 11ESB (ETA 1080)
Year (Estimated): circa 1952–1955
Case: Base metal clamshell with 10K gold-filled bezel & stainless steel back
Reference: 2069
Case size: 33mm
Lug-to-lug: 40mm
Thickness: approx. 9mm
Lug width: 17.6mm (17mm strap recommended; some 18mm straps may fit)
Wittnauer occupied a sweet spot in mid-century watchmaking, bringing Swiss mechanical reliability to an American market that valued tasteful design and real-world usability. This piece captures that ethos perfectly: a properly serviced, mechanically honest hand-wound movement, a refined dial, and those wonderfully stylized vintage lugs that give the watch its personality. It is a great example of how much design flair brands were willing to bake into everyday dress watches in the 1950s.
This is a handsome early-to-mid 1950s Wittnauer dress watch powered by the Wittnauer 11ESB (ETA 1080) manual-wind movement, freshly serviced and regulated for reliable everyday wear. With a bright silver dial, gilt details, and a compact 33mm case that wears larger thanks to its sculptural lugs, it delivers that classic mid-century look in a very wearable, practical package.
The case pairs a base-metal clamshell body with a 10K gold-filled bezel and a stainless steel screwback, creating a crisp two-material construction that was a hallmark of quality mid-century daily-wear watches. The standout design element is the lug architecture: dramatic, swooping vintage lugs with a cutaway profile that gives the watch a distinctive, almost floating stance on the strap. The dial is a clean silver tone with applied gold-tone markers and Arabic numerals at 12, 3, 6, and 9, with a neat outer minute track that keeps the overall look balanced and intentional. A new crystal has been installed for clear, distortion-free viewing while maintaining the correct vintage profile.
Inside is the Wittnauer 11ESB, a signed Wittnauer variant of the ETA 1080 family, introduced around 1950 and widely respected for its straightforward, serviceable construction and strong everyday performance. In this configuration it is a traditional three-hand manual-wind movement with a classic 18,000 bph cadence and a typical power reserve in the ~40-hour range.
Movement: Wittnauer 11ESB (ETA 1080 base)
Winding: Manual wind
Jewels: 17
Frequency: 18,000 bph
Power reserve (typical): approx. 40 hours
Display: Central sweep seconds
This watch has been fully serviced and regulated and is running well. A new crystal was installed during restoration. Overall presentation is strong, with light, honest wear consistent with age and a very attractive combination of warm gold tones against the clean silver dial.
Brand: Wittnauer
Movement: Wittnauer 11ESB (ETA 1080)
Year (Estimated): circa 1952–1955
Case: Base metal clamshell with 10K gold-filled bezel & stainless steel back
Reference: 2069
Case size: 33mm
Lug-to-lug: 40mm
Thickness: approx. 9mm
Lug width: 17.6mm (17mm strap recommended; some 18mm straps may fit)
Wittnauer occupied a sweet spot in mid-century watchmaking, bringing Swiss mechanical reliability to an American market that valued tasteful design and real-world usability. This piece captures that ethos perfectly: a properly serviced, mechanically honest hand-wound movement, a refined dial, and those wonderfully stylized vintage lugs that give the watch its personality. It is a great example of how much design flair brands were willing to bake into everyday dress watches in the 1950s.
