Fortis
The company was founded in 1912 in Grenchen, Switzerland by Walter Vogt and in collaboration with British watchmaker John Harwood designed the first commercially produced automatic movement.
John Harwood was also responsible for designing some of the company's first chronographs, they also produced some of the worlds first waterproof watches.
In 1962 they produced the Spacematic automatic watch designed to withstand the extreme conditions found during spaceflight and was tested by NASA during space missions.
They also supplied watches to the Russian Federal Space Agency and for use in the MIR 97 space mission.
In 2017 the company was taken over by Jupp Philip, a private investor who bailed out the company after some financial difficulties and renamed to FORTIS Watches AG.
Fortis after a clean and Serviced
Ebay Description
A classic vintage Fortis mechanical wristwatch featuring a striking black dial with luminous hands, bold Arabic numerals and robust military-inspired styling. A desirable Swiss-made timepiece from the respected Fortis brand.
Features:
Vintage Fortis wristwatch
Swiss Made
17 Jewels mechanical movement
Para Shock shock-protected movement
Black dial with Arabic numerals
Luminous hands
Stainless steel case back
Water resistant and anti-magnetic markings on case back
Black leather strap fitted
Classic military-style design
Condition:
Working at the time of listing.
Dial remains clear and attractive with age-related wear.
Case shows light scratches and signs of use consistent with age.
Crystal has light marks from normal wear.
Strap is pre-owned and shows wear but remains fitted and usable.
Observations
- On the dial it shows 'PARA SHOCK' but on the case back it shows Incabloc? so which is it, could this indicate it has been re-dialed?
- The numbers on the dial don't look lumed?
- No markings on crown?
- No 'Swiss Made' on dial?
Movement
Inspection
The movement in this watch is a FHF 96-4 and the shock mount is neither an incabloc or a parashock and the -4 indicates a date.
the dial is poorly finished with a 'mottled' appearance and the rear is poorly finished.
the case is also very poorly finished, the milling on the edges is rough.
the watch stem does not want to come out of the tube!
On the plus side, it is running, although not very well!
So whatever this watch was originally, it has had a dubious life!
Further investigations required
I have now stripped down the watch, and as i suspected it has had a trip to India in the past, the dial and case have been changed and the dial had been glued onto the back of the watch!!
This seems to be par for the course when the Indians 'Refurbish' a watch, more copydex to clean off!
to make matters worse, the glue has got all over the lower balance jewel holder and i can't get the jewel out to clean it.
Also, the movement was originally fitted with a date but this has been removed.
The watch has now been serviced the best i could given the state it was in and is running reasonably well.