John's PickThis present watch is illustrated in John Goldberger's book, "Longines Watches", on page 116. It features a beautiful non-luminous dial. This watch has three milled notches in the screw down case back and as a result is nicknamed the "Tre Tacche" (Italian for "three notch"). These "Tre Tacche" watches were made by Longines and were among the earliest watches in which the case back screwed onto the case like a modern-day bottle cap in order to help increase water resistance as well as keep dust and moisture out of the watch. This line of watches was particularly targeted toward military personnel and those that would need more durable watches for their jobs. The "Tre Tacche" watches also have fantastic stepped bezels in order to protect the crystal and great cases. This version has the large and highly-desirable 35mm case, while many "Tre Tacche" watches were made in 30mm and 32mm cases. With interest in vintage Longines watches continuing to rise, this watch offers tremendous value and is a rare opportunity to own a watch published in a John Goldberger book.
According to the Archives of Longines: "Originally, the serial number 8'202'577 identifies a wristwatch in stainless steel, bearing the reference 6119 and case reference 20408. It is fitted with a mechanical manually wound movement, caliber 12.68Z and was invoiced on 18 September 1951 to the company Ackermann, which was at that time our agent for the Czech Republic."
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