Elegant Swiss Staybrite stainless steel dress watch Circa 1940

Stainless steel keyless lever watch 
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A fine, rare and elegant Swiss Staybrite stainless steel open faced keyless dress watch made by Vacheron & Constantin in Geneva, circa 1940. Rhodium plated movement with Geneva striping decoration, 18 jewels, a straight line lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring and swan neck micrometer regulator. Two tone silvered sector dial with applied baton and Arabic hour indexes, an outer minute track, subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and original gold hands. Plain case with inclined stepped bezel and rectangular bow. Dial and movement signed, case numbered.
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Diameter: 47 mm
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Signed: Vacheron & Constantin Genève Swiss
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Staybrite is the name of a steel alloy containing 0.2% carbon, 18% chromium and 8% nickel. It is a stainless material that takes a fine polish and is therefore often used for making watch cases. It is probably the type of stainless steel that has been most widely used by watch companies, from the 1930s onwards.