Champthekid
5696
Enjoying my Minerva Aviation 45 today.
This one is from 1997 and made in 50 examples. Reference A71-A6B. 42mm which was considered somewhat oversized back then. It runs an NOS Valjoux 71 movement produced between the 1930’s to 1940’s. My watchmaker just regulated it because it was running -30 seconds a day. Now +3 a day which to me is about as perfect it gets for my liking. The movement is rudimentarily finished because it was usually hidden behind a caseback.
Hope you all have a great weekend!
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Enjoying my Minerva Aviation 45 today.
This one is from 1997 and made in 50 examples. Reference A71-A6B. 42mm which was considered somewhat oversized back then. It runs an NOS Valjoux 71 movement produced between the 1930’s to 1940’s. My watchmaker just regulated it because it was running -30 ...
Thank you, seabas132!
I also feel the rectangle pushers work well because the watch is 42mm. I think round pushers may have been too small 👍😁
This watch has a lot of character
with the knurled bezel and the cathedral hands. Nice looking pilote-style watch. Best, Emmanuel
Thank you very much, Emmanuel!
This one has staying power in my collection. I’m a big Minerva chronograph fan.
Thank you, M4!
I also like the logo. I like the way the “M” underlines the name Minerva 👍
Love it 🫶🏼 … clarity in the name
So this one seems to need some clarity in terms of its name…. It’s part of the AVUS II family of three models. Yours is a the Aviation 45. Do the other two model have names? All three models were released in 1997 to mark the 100th year of the use of the “...
I don’t think the Aviation 45 is
related to the AVUS family, but I’m not 100% sure. The A45 is a steel watch, it’s 40mm instead of 42mm, it has a plastic crystal versus mineral crystal on the A45. It has the Venus 152 movement. If someone knows for sure, please educate me. Thank you. ...
Hmm 🤔
The caseback says 1997 and also days 71 GHH which is the valjoux 71 calibre. Same as my AVUS II
Right. I edited my post and you must have
seen it pre edit. Please see again. I don’t think yours is Venus 152. I think valjoux 71 as it says on your caseback. Same as mine. You’re says stainless steel and mine says sterling silver.
See this link
https://www.shucktheoyster.com/portfolio/minerva-chronograph-1997-vx14-limited-10-50-full-set/ ...
Are we mixing up the 2 watches?
The Aviation 45 has the Valjoux 71 and the AVUS I posted has the Venus 152. Below is the Aviation 45 with the Valjoux 71 The one below is my AVUS with the Venus 152 ...
Yes, I think I mixed up the two
I didn’t know you had two of them. 😅 When you said here: “The A45 is a steel watch, it's 40mm instead of 42mm, it has a plastic crystal versus mineral crystal on the A45.” I thought “A45”= Aviation 45 … 🤔 Anyway, it’s sorted now. The Aviation 45 is NOT pa...
Please allow me to add more
confusion 🤣👍 My Minerva Heritage chronograph 😁😁😁 Have a great rest of your Sunday 👍 ...
🤣 this is the kind of confusion I love
Another excellent example. Remind me again on the size and the number made? Looks perfect on your wrist. Happy Sunday 🤝
😄 🫶🏼
So … quick summary: A) AVUS - 3 models (?) All using Venus 152(?) AVUS II All 40 mm (?) All in Sterling Silver (?) Released circa 1994 (?) Plexiglass Crown unsigned B) Aviation 45 Valjoux 71 Released in 1997 50 pieces made Stainless steel Sapphire crystal...
So it seem like no relationship to the AVUS II
But made also in 1997 (same as the AVUS II family) Translation MANUFACTURE D'HORLOGERIE CERTIFICATE OF ORIGIN "Aviation '45," Half a Century of Watchmaking Art Minerva AG hereby certifies that your "Aviation '45" chronograph, powered by the original Valjo...
A truly epic chrono 👍🏻🙌🏻👏🏻
As for the movement finishing, Minerva didn’t really focus on that particularly until the Gnutti era, so nothing surprising here 😊 A gem irrespective of that 👌🏻
In once owned this Avus Aviation ...
... Number 44/50, loved it at lot and still miss it. :-( Sold it to a Minerva collector in Germany when I was in urgent need for money due to financial crisis in 2009. One of my decisions related to watches, I regret most. Today everything's fine again, t...
Thank you!
I’m sorry that you had to sell it. I’ve been in the same situation over my years of collecting. Maybe you’ll be able to buy it back sometime in the future. It really is a great one as you know. Take care, Steve
Thank you, KMII!
The good old days for sure. Let’s see what they come up with now that the name has been revived 👍