1950s Timex, made for British department store Lewis's!
Wire lugs, a Timex rarity!
Hi, this is Alan. My contact info is at the bottom. Thank you for reading. Here is a neat, little Timex that does not have Timex anywhere on the dial. It was made by Timex for the British department store Lewis's, to be sold through their stores. Lewis's no longer exists. It's a small watch, maybe 24 mm across the case.
end/
Case is unusual for a Timex in that instead of springbars between the lugs for holding the strap, the case has "fixed lugs," with a continuity of the metal of the case, across from side-to-side. No springbars. So, you need a strap that threads through. In this case, a two-piece leather strap is present, probably original, and the back sides of the free end had to be secured to itself.
(Just for fun, above is a different wire-lug Timex, also from Britian, 1950s. If you want to read the full review of this watch, click here.)
Here is a look at the dial with the case removed, so you can see things a bit better. Dial background is off-white, metal indices are gold color, have a somewhat modern look to the numerals, and batons. Hands are also goldtone. No seconds hand movement. MADE IN GREAT BRITAIN at bottom.
US TIME / TIMEX Movement 22, barely seen stamped 22 upper right of this pic. Also barely seen is SCOTLAND, Manufactured the Timex factory in Dundee, Scotland.
I love these movement holders. Like little trays. The movement sits in the tray. Those four U-shaped cut-outs serve as springs and put tension on caseback when it's in place, to press movement forward, and prevent a loose, rattling movement.
And here is the movement assembly sitting in the movement holder.
I love these period caseback markings. I call this the "Timex Roundel," and it includes four details about the watch, including the legendary V-CONIC ESCAPEMENT. It's interesting in that V-Conic appeared in many advertisements in both UK and USA, it's only the British made Timex that have the V-CONIC on the casebacks.
Not to be confused with *John Lewis,* Lewis's was a department store that began back in 1956, had a long run, including acquiring Selfridges in the 1960s, launching Miss Selfridge, and more. One of the outlets was even bombed by the IRA during the Troubles, in 1975.
But they eventually fell on hard times, and went into receivership in 1991, with the brand bought and sold a few times until it came to an end in 2010. But this watch does not care about the history, it's about 65 years old, and is ticking away doing fine. The watch runs well, and keeps time.
Lewis's Department Store, Lamb Street, Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent. Advertisement from 1957 City of Stoke-on-Trent Handbook. The building, shown better below, was built in 1934.
