Here is a Raleigh Oyster once owned by my friend's father, who wore it constantly as chef and owner of a restaurant in the gold and timber country of Northern California. Watch needs a COA and shows much wear. Does it have a vintage, and does it have any value?

Another side of the watch

Here is back of watch. The original band or strap was replace by a Speidel.

This was one a myriad of differently-named "boy's sized" (i.e. 28-30 mm) Rolex Oysters made for the Canadian market. Other names include Pioneer, Centregraph, Lipton, Princeton, et al). They all date from the '40s, for the most part, and are usually equipped with the cal. 59 movement. Value is difficult to gauge, depending on many variables...range is $400-1200 or so, depending on condition. I've seen some dealers charge a bit more, but these don't sell so quickly.

Adam

So does it have a Rolex connection?

Clive Driscoll

Whoops! just found it (the word Rolex")in your e-mail Adam. Sorry must get a new brain

Thanks, Adam, for the education about this watch. My friend will be pleased to know that his father left him a Rolex!

You can also see marked on the outside of the case the letters R.W.C.
which stands for the "Rolex Watch Company". This was a typical marking
for a 40's vintage Rolex case.

Does anyone know why they were made in this "boys size"
Were they really made for boys at the time or was it fashionable for watches to be this size at that time,

Or some ther reason - I've often wondered.

28-30mm was apparently a popular size for soldiers in WWII, so as to keep out of the way...or at least that's what we've been told. The Hamilton Lexington was 28mm (and even slimmer).

The 'boy's size' description has always puzzled me. I wear a Wittnauer ALL PROOF every now and then and after a few days it seems to look right and my larger watches all of a sudden look way too big. I have to admit the 29mm. varieties are pretty comfortable to wear.

I agree with you, Dana, and at least one day each week I wear a small size wristwatch, a Ball Official Standard. In fact, I have two of these, one automatic and the other manual wind. My perspective from this is that small isn't bad. In fact, my first wristwatch was a 70's Omega Constellation bought in 1973. I don't believe that larger sizes were too available then. I don't know how I moved over to larger watches, but my present every day watch is an Omega Seamaster at around 40mm.

Here is some additional information from Darryl Lesser, of Montreal. "Oyster is a caliber Rolex 59 which is the basic calliber ff30 made for Rolex in the early 1940's. Boy's size with approximately 12 different names, like Oyster, Skyrocket, Raleigh, Grenfell, Turtle, Zell Brothers, Solar and Essex, to name a few. Value is between $750 market level to $1,500 fully serviced with a clean dial and signed "Oyster watch case on the inside or R.W.C."

My Hamilton "Cushion" model is only 27 mm across, excluding the crown - that was their man's size watch in 1923, and for many years after - the modern fashion for what I'd call "oversized" watches came much later.

I don't think many watch Companies consciously made "boy's" watches - indeed because watches were an expensive item, there would not have been much of a market for them anyway. The engraving on many presentation watches shows them to have been given upon graduation.

Sorry to ressurect such an old topic, but it was one that caught my eye as I was wondering through the WW archives. One explaination regarding the smaller size wasn't mentioned.

I've read in my readings of the past year while researching info about my Dad's 1943 Lipton Oyster , I read mens wrist watches were sized smaller and sold before the invention and acceptance of the incabloc system in 1938 by manufacturers to absorb shock.

The smaller the mass, the better the chance a balance staff would have in surviving a shock on the wrist in daily use, so a small watch was the answer. Just about all watches from the 30's and 40's were this size.

It wasn't just about fashion, and NOT marketed toward kids, but were aimed at sales to men and college students.

Please don't ask me to 'site my source', though. I've read so many things in random searches, I didn't make a note of the articles I've read.

Anyway.....I ust wanted to toss that one out there while stumbling around in old stuff, but still an interesting topic none the less.

That explaination made sense to me.

Regards! Mark

Interesting thoughts Mark,
I've wondered about that myself. I have a 1944 Longines Man's watch that I thought initially was maybe a ladies watch or perhaps a nurses watch. It measures apx 28mm including the case (without stem or lugs).