quattro
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Four watches of Admiral Byrd
Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr., (1888 - 1957) is one of America’s greatest explorers.
And it turns out that several watches have accompanied his career and his adventures.
credit: University of Southern California. Libraries (found on Wikipedia)
A/ VACHERON CONSTANTIN
This Vacheron Constantin pink gold wristwatch chronometer with co-axial single button chronograph and register was made on special order for the English Crown in 1925.
It was presented by King George V to Admiral Richard Byrd in commemoration of his 1926 Arctic Expedition.
The manual caliber 17’’’ was made by Louis Elisée Piguet and featured Vacheron Constantin’s micrometer regulator (Patent CH 101652, registered on 1 November 1923).
credit: Antiquorum
B/ LONGINES
Admiral Byrd is famous for the near complete and accurate mapping of the Antarctic continent that he and his crew were able to accomplish over several expeditions, the first one in 1928, the second one in 1934.
During this second expedition, Admiral Byrd wore the Longines Weems silver watch bearing serial number 5’167’802 and equipped with calibre 18.69N, which was sold to him in 1933.
It was set for him at sidereal time and the inner rotating seconds setting disk controlled by secondary "crown" at 4 o’clock, allowed him to synchronize the second hand with a reference clock, essential for radio synchronization.
credit: Sotheby’s
C/ PATEK PHILIPPE
In 1955 US Navy financed another expedition in Antarctic, the so called “Operation Deep Freeze I” with the aim of establishing a permanent research station there and Admiral Richard Byrd was appointed to lead the expedition.
Patek Philippe manufactured for him a 57 mm staybrite steel pocket watch, ref. 778. The watch was robust enough to go through freezing temperatures (up to -75 degrees) and the movement was covered by a soft iron cap to ensure the watch being amagnetic against the strong fields of Antarctica.
The black dial displays a clear layout with numbers being filled with radium bears the mention "Made especially for Richard E. Byrd".
Admiral Richard E. Byrd aboard the USS Wyandot at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, as part of Operation Deep Freeze I.
D/ CROTON / NIVADA GRENCHEN
During “Operation Deep Freeze I”, Admiral Byrd wore on his wrist a robust, waterproof and shock-resistant 35 mm Croton Nivada Grenchen Antarctic, as stated on some period advertisings.
Thanks for reading.
Four watches of Admiral Byrd
I guess that’s because you have the soul of an explorer !
Thank you for this interesting post and all of the watches.
The VC would be my pick too for the same reason.
Amazing stuff, quattro!
That Longines tool back story just sparked my imagination
You might be interested in the following article:
As I was searching for the Weems, I saw that Longines has a current version that it is selling on its website.
There’s a review by Tim Mooso which is easy to find
Very nice…thank you, Emmanuel!
Who are the explorers of today?
When watches were still tools 🛠️
the pp dial
I thought “made especially” was correct,
Yes, such an eclectic quartet!
