Black Dial Watches are so Enjoyable to Wear, The 1953 Longines Time-Only Caliber 23Z with Black Dial

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It is no secret. The thing that collectors judge first about a watch is its’ appearance. Even more importantly, collectors scrutinize the dials of watches because it is ultimately the part of the watch their eyes will be looking at the most. Not only are collectors looking for the overall aesthetics of the dial of a watch, they are also looking at it for originality. This scrutiny, to some, is more extreme with vintage watches.
One opinion that has become somewhat inherent with collectors is the love for vintage watches with black dials. This Longines is a great example of what collectors love. Interestingly, this has been a hard piece to research - the markings on the case were minimal, and there is only one (discountbloc.ru/welcome.php?a...) other example of this piece online and the website does not seem to be functioning. But, there are still plenty of information this watch can tell us.
First of all, the watch is a 34mm time-only piece manufactured by Longines in 1953. Looking at the caseback, there is an inscription that states “10K gold filled D&A”. This would indicate that the case of the watch was 10k gold filled. However, looking at the watch, the case appears to be stainless steel - the first interesting part of this watch. What likely happened is the 10k gold filling, being fairly fragile, came off during its lifetime. A watchmaker likely polished off the remaining gold filling and exposure the stainless steel case. This is also likely because the example we found online appears to have a gold case.
The D&A case stamp is referencing the casemaker. The case was manufactured by DiVincenzo & Arienti, a Brooklyn-based case maker who manufactured cases for brands like Longines, Omega, Rolex, and Hamilton. Swiss brands were taxed at quite high rates during this period for importing cases. To avoid the high taxes, many brands would commission cases to be made in the USA that were destined to be sold in the USA. This reference is a good example of this. We have covered a few pieces that had cases made by Divencenzo & Arienti, like this solid gold Longines with an incredibly attractive case with diamond and guilloche dial.
Although the case no longer has its gold filling, the steel still has a fairly attractive personality. The case is a two part case, with a snap-on caseback. The lugs are long and flat, making the watch sit quite large for a 34mm watch. The steel still has sharp corners, and overall design is very attractive.
The dial of the watch is really breathtaking. The watch features an incredible black dial that has aged so evenly overtime. It retains its’ deep black colour, with even specs on the dial. The watch has recessed hour markers that a silver tone. The Longines logo is applied and the Longines name appears to be printed on the dial. The subsidiary seconds dial uses a similar motif, with circular finishing. It also has sword hands which give the watch a very strong look to it. Simple, Attractive, and beautiful are perfect ways of describing the watch.
Popping off the caseback, one can see additional caseback markings. The watch was sold by the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company that operated out of New York and Montreal. The companies name is engraved on the inside case back. Wittnauer was a successful brand in the USA, and was acquired by Longines in 1950, just after World War II where they became a distribution partner for Longines. In 1969, Longines-Wittnauer was sold to Westinghouse Electric Corporation and in 1994, Longines ended their distribution relationship with Wittnauer. But, during their partnership, many different models hit the market that are of interest to collectors today. The caseback also confirms the fact that it was a 10K gold filled watch manufactured by DiVincenzo & Arienti. Unfortunately there is no reference number on the caseback, which made researching this piece difficult.
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[@johnbrand4551]

Great video as always. Looking forward to the Benrus

[@grant_watchesblank1340]

Black dial is so nice. Aged to perfection

[@jamest3164]

Very interesting piece

[@jacksugden8190]

According to Google: A gold filled watch has a thin layer of karat gold "fused" to the outer layer of the brass watch case. Gold filled processes are usually reserved for "die stamped" watch cases with simple design shapes.

[@PhilipPStanil]

🖤💯💘

[@natsherm828]

Not for everyone. Case not being original can be frustrating to collectors