Antique Military WWII Pilots BOVET PRIMA Chronograph Wristwatch Telemetre Swiss 17 JewelsDetailsThis is an Antique/Vintage Bovet Prima Chronograph Telemeter (Telemetre) Swiss Wristwatch, made and worn by the Military Aviation Pilots during or after the WWII.This Vintage/Antique Bovet Prima watch is an ideal piece for someone looking for a classic model that is both collectible and wearable at the same time.It has a beautiful dial with many detailed Latin numerals. The watch has a chronograph and a telemeter - a tool that is used for measuring distance. This specific Telemeter is suited to measure speeds and distances for pilots and airplanes.Size: Diameter with the crown: 34mmDiameter without crown: 32mmLug width: 17mmI personally have contacted Bovet regarding its authenticity and they confirmed that the watch is authentic:Christophe PersozDear Sir, Thank you very much for your interest about BOVET 1822 and for your request about your timepiece.I’m happy to confirm that this timepiece is an authentic BOVET timepiece produced between 1945 and 1962 For a complete and perfect authentication we need to have the timepiece in our workshop but in the base of the different pictures I could say yes at 99.99% for all the principal components (case, movment dial) Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any other question. Best regards, General information on Chronograph and Telemeters and how they work:Any chronograph models are equipped with the tachymeter scale on the watch bezel or surrounds the dial. It tells you the traveling speed over a fixed distance in km/hour or miles/hour. You can also use it to measure a production process in units/hour. While the scale markings may look complicated at first glance to the uninitiated, reading the tachymeter is really easy. Here's how. (Oh, before you start using the tachymeter, your watch should be in the chronograph (stopwatch) mode where the second hand is resting still at the 12 o'clock position. Many of you already knew that but this is just a gentle reminder, just in case.)Measuring SpeedStart the chronograph at a starting line or marker.Stop the chronograph at the next kilometer or mile marker.The value on the scale at which the second hand is pointing indicates the speed in km/hour or miles/hour depending on the unit of distance used.For example, we want to know the speed of a moving car.Start the chronograph when the car passes a predetermined starting line or marker A, and stop the chronograph when the car passes the next line or marker B, 1 km (or mile) away.The second hand is pointing at 6 o'clock. Read the tachymeter value at that position and it shows 120, telling us that the car was traveling at a speed of 120 km/h (or miles/h).What if the distance is less than a km or mile?
No problem, but a little simple calculation is required.For example, we want to know how fast a 200m athlete is running.Start the stopwatch when the race starts, and stop it when the athlete crosses the finishing line.Let's say the athlete crossed the line at 20 seconds. The tachymeter value at the 20 second mark (4 o'clock position) shows 180, which means 180 km/h if the distance timed was 1 km.But the athlete only ran one-fifth of a kilometer. Therefore, we need to divide 180 by 5 (1/5 of 180) to get 36 km/h, which is the speed of the athlete in that 200 m race.What if the object is traveling very fast?
Again, a little simple calculation will do.Let's say an aircraft took 35 seconds to cover a distance of 10 km.The tachymeter shows us a speed of 100 km/hour at the 35 seconds mark.However, 10 km have been traveled. Therefore the speed of the aircraft is 100 x 10, which is 1000 km/h.Measuring Production Process in units per hour
If the production process takes 18 seconds to churn out one unit of product, the tachymeter value at that position reads 200.This means the process has a production output rate of 200 units per hour.

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How to read the TelemeterSome watches are equipped with the telemeter scale, which tells you the approximate distance between the user and an event that can be both seen and heard.The scale is usually defined in kilometers or miles depending on the watch model.Examples of events that are seen and then heard are lightning and thunder, fireworks and artillery firing.
Here's how to use the telemeter.Start the stopwatch when the event is seen.Stop it when its sound is heard.The telemeter scale value at which the second hand is pointing is the approximate distance between your position and the event.In the example shown, the distance is 8.7 km.
The telemeter scale makes use of the principle of the speed of sound.Although it is not a constant value since it is affected by factors such as altitude and temperature, the  can be specifically calculated using .As such, telemeter scales on chronograph watches are generally calibrated based on the speed of sound at sea level, which is calculated to be approximately 340 m/s.At the 30 seconds mark, the telemeter tells us the distance to the artillery firing (heard 30 seconds after sighting the firing) is approximately 10 km.
If your watch is not equipped with a telemeter scale, you'd still be able to find out the approximate distance to an event that is seen and then heard.Based on the speed of sound, you can simply calculate the distance using the good old equation,Distance = Speed x TimeSo, knowing the speed of sound to be 340 m/s and the time elapsed between the event seen and heard is 30 seconds, the approximate distance is therefore 10,200 m, which is 10 km as shown on the telemeter scale above.
Whether you are using a watch equipped with telemeter or making your own calculation, do remember that the distance is only an approximation due simply to the fact that the Here is a youtube video as an example. Watch this tutorial video to know how to use your telemeter function on your chronograph:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV8MgcVWPGkThis is a special military air force (Aviation) wristwatch in almost perfect condition for its age. It has been serviced and works perfectly. Those specific models were mostly used by Military People in high ranks such as Officers and Pilots in the Aviation, they were the watch of their choice because of the Telemeter and Chronograph options the watch offered.Condition:The watch has been serviced by the official authorized/approved service of Longines-Bulgaria. It is perfectly working. The glass is free of scratches (only miniature cracks caused by time, also hardly visible), there might be some but hardly visible to the naked eye. In my opinion this miniature cracks makes it even more beautiful and authentic and suits the watch well. The dial has no scratches or damage such as dents. The Dial is clean it may have some hardly noticeable specks caused by time, but hardly visible for the naked eye. The stainless steel body is also in good condition, there are some slight wear of spots  on the chrome and miniature scratches dents, but hardly visible to the naked eye. Keep in mind that this is an Antique watch not a brand new one. The crown is not the original one, but I think that it fits perfectly to the shape and size of the watch. The condition is as you can see it on the pictures.We have fitted the watch with a high quality genuine leather strap/band. This is in mint condition and has not been worn. The band is made of leather, and it's brand-new, purchased to fit the watch perfectly, made of high quality genuine leather with stitching. This is not a genuine Bovet strap, though it is very similar in appearance and construction to that which would have been supplied with the piece when new.As you can see on the photos, the mechanism is very complicated - designed for military purposes (I explained the topic upper in the description).This  Bovet PRIMA model is rare and it deserves its place in the world's finest collections of old military items. REGARDING THE SHIPPING:The watch will be shipped in a specially created for this watch box, this box is highly durable and will withstand weight, pressure, vibrations and any other ways of rough transportation conditions. I will make pictures of the box and watch before shipping it. There will be NO possible way for the watch to get any damage during the transportation. In other words you will receive the watch exactly as it is on the pictures in WORKING CONDITION. All watches I sent are being checked by an official authorized/approved service a day before shipping them.About the brand:History[]Watches[]Legacy of the Bovet style[]Bovet watches include much artistic detail, and the company gives the artisans a great deal of independence in creating the elements of the watches, thus encouraging creativity. The Chinese watches were originally sold in pairs in a mahogany box, both for good luck and so that the user would have a back-up watch if one needed repair, as repairs would sometimes take more than six months to complete. The design characteristics of the watch emphasized the elements which appealed to Chinese consumers. One of these appealing characteristics was the mechanics of clocks and watches, and so Bovet emphasized the beauty of the movements with its skeletonized views and highly decorative movements, the first watches to emphasize these characteristics in this way. For the same reason the watches were also among the first to include a second-hand. The enamel decorations were usually of European scenes or plant life, which made the watches more appealing to the Chinese consumers, since such images were as exotic to them as the European-made watches themselves.The original Chinese Bovet watches often fetch more than US$300,000 for the most decorative models, and more than $50,000 for the simpler ones. The simplest metal Chinese watches in moderate condition are usually sold for at least $500. Replicas have become increasingly common on the Internet, and while some are the counterfeits produced in China in the 19th century, some more modern counterfeits have also been seen, particularly in markets in Europe and on eBay.The chronographs[]The Bovet branded watches sold by Bovet Freres in the early 1940s (and possibly as early as the 1930s) and by Favre-Leuba from 1948 to 1950 contained a number of , or blank movements manufactured by other companies. Initially the signature, or logo, on the dial of the Bovet Freres watches simply had the name of the company in a typical typeface, but in the early 1940s their watches had their stylized logo without the "Freres". When  purchased the company, the stylized logo was replaced with simply "Bovet" in normal type, then with a stylized "Bovet". In the transition just before the Favre-Leuba watches no longer used the Bovet brand, watches assembled at the Bovet facility bore the name of both Favre-Leuba and Bovet.The most commonly used ebauches during this period were those manufactured by Ebauches SA (now ETA, SA), namely the Valjoux and Landeron . The 17 jewel Valjoux 84 lever  with stem wind was the most common Valjoux movement for the Bovet chronographs, but sometimes the 77 calibre was also used. The Landeron movements were more varied, which included the 47, 48, 51, 57, 59, 80, 81 calibres, and for the rare date and moonphase models, the Landeron 186 was used. Most of the Bovet Freres watches contained Valjoux movements, while most of the Favre-Leuba watches contained Landeron movements. It has been said that the Valjoux were the better produced of the ebauches, indeed the best at the time, and that over time the Landeron became more common and cheap in quality, and it is said that the poor quality of the Landeron had a negative impact on the Bovet name. These chronographs were produced in large numbers, and are fairly commonly found on the internet for purchase. This was a commercial divergence in the Bovet identity which is unique in the Bovet history, as it is normally known for refined artistic pieces, and not utility.Source: http://www.bovet.com/Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovet_FleurierAdditional information from one of our friends/clients:He was a pilot during the WWII and had such a watch (38mm) back in the days. Here is his story: "The Bovet I wore during the war was given to me by my father when I became a pilot. When I got married and had children after the war the watch broke and I did not have the money to fix it so I sold it around 1968. I have always regretted that and have tried to find another, black face, 38mm, radium hands but I am now 92 years old and am about ready to give up. I am not a collector, I just feel guilty about selling a watch my father had given me. Thanks for your help. Regards, Dino Thank you for taking the time to reply with such a long email. I appreciate it. I thought you might enjoy these photos. In one I am the 3rd from the left in front of my P-38. In the other I am with my P-51. Here I am with my P-51 and in the color photo I am on the right in front of my P-38"Link to Pictures:https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.985888178170277.1073742449.169770229782080&type=3Size: You can see the measurements on the pictures.If you require any more information or pictures please contact us.