Quality vintage watches with blue dials in good condition are surprisingly hard to find, so I was happy when I tracked down this Bucherer example. The AS 1686 movement isn’t the prettiest, but it’s reliable and keeps good time. The movement is retained with a simple stamped steel case ring - not my favorite arrangement, as the movement tends to want to fall out when you’re trying to regulate it in the dial up position with the case back off.

Have you ever received a watch as a gift, worn it once or twice, then put it away in a drawer? It seems like this watch was one of those. I received it in its original box, with what (I think) is the original band, and in nearly perfect condition. In fact, it was so clean that I thought it was probably much more recent than it is. The first thing that clued me into its true age was when I opened the case and saw the design of the nicely-finished 20-jewel movement, with its above-the-bridge indirect drive center second hand and separate excape wheel bridge. Unfortunately, while it’s distinctive and almost certainly an ebauche of some sort, I have not been able to identify the movement (if you know, please comment!).