Wittnauer Single Button Chronograph

An oversized stainless steel single button Wittnauer pilot's chronograph. This is an exceptional, all original very early find. This watch perhaps has everything that a collector of this style of watch is looking for; Presence, originality, condition, and above all, rarity. Wittnauer watches, during the early part of the evolution of the wristwatch, were the most important watch makers in the field of watches for military, navy and early aviation. Albert Wittnauer was a Swiss immigrant who arrived in New York City in 1872 at the age of sixteen, already a skilled watch maker. He began working with his brother in law, Eugene Robert, a retailer importing Swiss watches, which, by 1874, now employed Louis Wittnauer, his younger brother. The first Wittnauer's watch line were made circa 1880, with the Wittnauer brand being formally established in 1885, when Mr. Robert gave the title to Albert Wittnauer under the name the "A. Wittnauer Company". Wittnauer movements were initially made for them