Other
1970s LeGant Chronograph (Ref. 14305/1) Valjoux Cal. 7733
Back in the middle of the century, it was a pretty common thing for department stores to sell co-branded or white-label watches. Some of these include Sears' Tradition brand, LL Bean's white labeling of Hamilton watches, and LeGant, which was Montgomery Ward's in-house brand.
That is, of course, if you can call it "in-house." LeGant watches were actually made under contract for the department store but featured Swiss movements that were then cased and finished in France before the brand was eventually sold to Seiko in the '90s.
But this beautiful LeGant is from those golden years and definitely looks the part with its chunky case, the retro-futuristic typeface on the rotating bezel, and pops of color throughout the dial. And how about that unique, seemingly handwritten LeGant signature? C'est chic.
| Stock # | LEGCH7733 | |
| Brand | LeGant | |
| Style | Chronograph | |
| Model | 14305/1 | |
| Serial | N/A | |
| Size | Men's | |
| Material | Stainless Steel | |
| Dial | Matte Black | |
| Millimeters | 38.5 | |
| Strap | 2pc Handmade Leather Strap |
CASE & BRACELET
The exceptional case has potentially been gently polished once in its past, featuring long angular lugs that exhibit light signs of honest use. The original bezel shows virtually no wear and retains deep black coloring and its bright red arrow at the 12 o'clock position. The case retains its original unsigned crown and dual pump-pushers. The original case back is crisp, showing mild signs of use. The watch comes supplied on a two-piece handmade leather strap.
DIAL & HANDS
The handsome matte black dial is in wonderful overall condition showing no notable signs of age and no damage. The tritium lume has developed a charming green patina and shows no degradation under U.V. light inspection. The 30-minute subdial at 6 o'clock features pops of red and blue to partition the 5- and 10-minute marks respectively. The hour and minute hands are white with lume that has aged to a light yellow/green color, same as the bright orange center chronograph hand. Under U.V. light inspection the center chronograph hand and hour hand show no lume loss, the minute hand displays very minor degradation and remains stable.
ACCESSORIES
None. The watch is running and keeping time, previous service history is unknown.