Lemania chronographs - Tissot 1940's

For your consideration is a beautifully aged 1940's triple-register chronograph from Tissot. It contains a hand-wind Lemania movement. The serial number on the movement indicates that the watch was assembled in 1947 for distribution to the United States. The silver white dial is aged and has a smoke-like look to it. The hands are all original, as are the stainless steel case and back that have not been polished. It is finished off with a deep dark blue leather band that has the same color as the blue steel hands. This is one of the best Tissot watches money can buy!

The movement is a hand-wind Lemania C27.4H. This caliber was used by Tissot (according to the book Tissot: 150 Years of History) only in the years 1942-1943. Perhaps because of WWII, the watch was marketed in America because there was not much of a market for this watch remaining in Europe.

Lemania designated their chronograph movement of that era simply as CHRO 27 or C.27 where the "27" stands for the diameter of the movement, 27mm. It was produced with two registers as well as with three registers by adding a 12-hour subdial. The three-register movement was the one sold to Tissot as the C.27.H, however, with four changes to the original caliber, it was designated the C27.4H. In the very same era when Tissot, Omega, and Lemania worked together in the SIHH, Lemania produced the 27 CHRO C12 movement—also a 27mm diameter chronograph with extra 12-hour register—for Omega. Launched in 1942, the 27 CHRO C12 later became known as the Lemania 2310 or Omega c.321!