Lightweight Swiss open faced keyless lever watch Circa 1950

Aluminium presentation watch
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A very fine and rare, lightweight Swiss aluminium open faced keyless pocket watch made by Vacheron & Constantin for Canadian Aluminum Limited, circa 1950. The aluminium movement with a Swiss lever movement, 17 jewels, a cut and compensated bimetallic balance, adjusted to temperatures. Aluminium dial with applied polished Breguet numerals, an outer minute track, large subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and aluminium Breguet hands. The polished case is inscribed Presentee A P.A. Doucet par Aluminum Company of Canada Ltd. en reconnaissance de 25 annees de bon service 1948 on the back. Dial signed, case and movement signed and numbered. Comes with the original presentation box, an instruction booklet and a hand tag.
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Diameter: 45 mm
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Signed: Vacheron & Constantin Genève Swiss
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Reference No. 4348.
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The Vacheron & Constantin aluminium watch was developed in 1937 at the request of Vacheron Constantin agent Henry Banks Limited of Montreal, on behalf of the Canadian Aluminum Limited Companies. The watch, intended to mark 25 years of continuous service within the Aluminum group, was to have ‘real value, originality and at the same time, serve as a reminder of the great aluminium industry’.

A prototype was produced. The case, dial, hands, bridges and plates were made of aluminium, and the balance, springs, wheels and pivots were of traditional materials. Testing showed that the new watch was as precise as others made of more traditional materials in its category. In 1938, Vacheron & Constantin delivered its first aluminium watches, which weighed approximately a quarter of the weight of similar sized gold watches. By April of 1950, they had delivered 271 examples of these watches. In later years, aluminium became a mainstay of the watchmaking industry, thanks to its non-ferrous, antimagnetic qualities, as well as its lightness.
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In general, these timepieces were not allowed to go on sale. They were reserved exclusively for the aluminum companies in Canada. The production was 30 pieces in the 30s and 500 in the 50s.