Vintage Longines Ladies’ 9ct Gold Bracelet Watch | c.1953–1954

A wonderfully characterful vintage Longines ladies’ watch dating to mid 1950s,  crafted in solid 9ct yellow gold and finished with a beautifully decorative integrated gold bracelet.

The petite square case frames a classic silvered dial with applied gold baton hour markers, an Arabic numeral at 12 and elegant gold-tone hands. Its clean, understated dial is very typical of Longines’ beautifully refined mid-century watchmaking, while the unusual bracelet gives this particular example much more of a jewellery-watch feel.

The real highlight is the integrated solid 9ct gold bracelet, formed from a series of sculptural polished circular and looped links. Rather than simply attaching a conventional bracelet to the case, the design flows directly from the watch with decorative gold links immediately above and below the dial, making the whole piece feel almost like a piece of fine jewellery with a watch incorporated into it.

At approximately 14.5 grams in total, it remains beautifully delicate on the wrist and is ideally suited to a wrist of approximately 15–16cm.

Inside is a signed Longines 17-jewel manual-wind mechanical movement, a lovely example of the traditional Swiss watchmaking for which Longines became so highly regarded. The movement has been fully serviced and the watch is ready to wear.

The bracelet remains in good vintage condition overall. There are a few minor dents to some of the gold links, consistent with a piece that is now more than 70 years old, and these have been reflected in the condition description rather than disguised.

A particularly pretty example of a 1950s Longines ladies’ cocktail watch, combining Swiss mechanical watchmaking with the sculptural gold bracelet designs that make these early ladies’ pieces so appealing today.