Rescapement: Eric Wind Provides Insight Into Coin Watches

Charlie Dunne, contributor to Rescapement, recently wrote about the interesting subsection of watchmaking in coin watches. Dunne appealed to Eric Wind for insights on the history of these horological accessories and the various models and manufacturers over the 20th century. With an extreme penchant for coin watches, Wind has sold a wide range of examples during his time in the watch industry, most notably a 1926 Cartier coin watch that once belonged to Babe Ruth. The coin watch was presumably “collected” as a gambling debt by the legendary New York gangster Bumpy Johnson during Christmas season of 1937.

You can watch Wind and Cara Barrett discuss the timepiece, and the relationship between Babe Ruth and Bumpy Johnson within the 2017 video below:

Additionally, Wind lent insight to a particularly rare and exceptional Audemars Piguet coin watch which is the only publicly known example to feature a double signed dial by Bulgari. The coin was made in 1941 from an 1863 Napoleon III French 100 franc coin. According to Wind “The watch was imported to Italy only months before the Italian government instituted a ban on gold jewelry imports. During World War II the Bulgari family took in and helped Jewish women during those years and the family is listed among The Righteous Among the Nations in Israel for their effort to help protect the Jewish women.” Knowing the significance of this timepiece it was soon acquired by Bulgari for the company's museum.

You can read the full article below:

https://www.rescapement.com/blog/an-introduction-to-coin-watches