Bogarts Watch

[bburtner@moran]

To all you Bogart fans here is the question: What name watch did Bogart wear in Casablanca?

 

[scotrace]

I guess we'll need some screen grabs.

 

[PADDY]

Longines?

I thought it was a Longines Watch.

 

[bburtner@moran]

Longines

Bingo! You got it Paddy well done.Tonneau shape Roosevelt model.

 

[Akubra Man]

Longines is using Bogie in their advertising and even ran a contest to find the man most like him approximately 4 years ago. It was won by a retired New York City Police Detective.

edited for spelling correction

 

[scotrace]

Is that the Casablanca watch then? Does anyone have a clear shot of it?

 

[Akubra Man]

I found a link to an article about Longines watches that claims Bogie wore his own watch filming Casablanca and it was a Longines Tonneau like the one in the ad I posted. The one in the ad is the modern remake of Bogies watches style.
Here is a link to the article:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fhs.hk/pictures/longines_1911.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fhs.hk/Archives/longines_evidenza_en.htm&h=302&w=170&sz=6&hl=en&start=123&usg=__9ac9THEgD0pEzajjAIhdJhddQK0=&tbnid=tbS_Rk_ltEPwVM:&tbnh=116&tbnw=65&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbogart%2Bcasablanca%2Bwristwatch%26start%3D120%26ndsp%3D20%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rls%3DGFRC,GFRC:2006-51,GFRC:en%26sa%3DN

 

[Tomasso]

Does anyone have a clear shot of it?

 

[Feraud]

Based on the Longines article noted above, this is Bogart's watch as used in Casablanca.

1941
This tonneau-shaped watch was once owned and worn by Humphrey Bogart. Its gilt case is inscribed with Bogart’s initials “H.B.” and houses a L25.17 handwound movement with a 18,000-vibrations per hour beat and 17 jewels. Its copper rose dial is enhanced with applied Arabic numerals in yellow gold and a subdial for the seconds at 6 o’clock. The watch is fitted with a gilt flexible metal bracelet.

The tonneau-shaped watch launched in 1941 had attracted Hollywood superstar Humphrey Bogart, who kept wearing it in his daily life and in "Casablanca", his famous movie that swept the billboards worldwide. The gilt case was inscribed with Bogart's initials "H.B." and matched with a flexible metal bracelet, also a gilt breakthrough. The chic pink gold dial was enhanced with Arabic numerals in yellow gold. This groundbreaking tonneau-shaped wristwatch is now preserved in Longines' museum.

 

[Mossyrock]

OK, I KNOW I am going to get torpedoed for this, but that just doesn't strike me as a very masculine watch. In fact, it looks like the watch my Mother used to wear. Somehow it just doesn't fit with the "Man's man" image of Bogie....[huh]
<NOMEX undies are ON!>

 

[Feraud]

OK, I KNOW I am going to get torpedoed for this, but that just doesn't strike me as a very masculine watch. In fact, it looks like the watch my Mother used to wear. Somehow it just doesn't fit with the "Man's man" image of Bogie....[huh]
<NOMEX undies are ON!>

Considering Bogart (the man not the actor) came from a well to do family it makes perfect sense.

 

[bburtner@moran]

Mans Watch

That was the size most tonneau styles were,Gruen`s curvexes were long some 48mm but not wide.They were elegent timepieces not like the foolish looking "BIG WATCH" frenzy of today.Thats just my opinion.

 

[TM]

I happened to view Casablanca on the big screen the other night and kept an eye out for the watch. But the watch got hardly any screen time at all. Just a few glimpses, none of which were enough for me to identify it. So it was nice to see the posted photograph of the real watch. No multiple-chronograph dials for Bogart!

Tony

 

[Tomasso]

OK, I KNOW I am going to get torpedoed for this, but that just doesn't strike me as a very masculine watch.

Yes, sartorial neophytes (and homophobes) often mistake elegance for femininity. [huh]

I have several macho friends who would rather die that wear a formal pump, THE most classic choice in formal footwear.

 

[H.Johnson]

I almost hate to find myself promoting a book by Gilles Lhotte, but Loungers who are interested in what watches were worn by which Golden Era film stars may be interested in his 'Les Montres des Stars'. There is a section on Bogart's Longines. Oh, you need to speak French to get the best out of it.

Coincidentally, I was recently at BaselWorld (a huge watch trade show) and I was talking to a man from Longines who told me that they intend to bring out a new reproduction vintage watch every year (rather than one 'vintage' collection as IWC did). He was (for a 'company man') rather dismissive of previous attempts to 'remake' vintage watches, and I agree - why add complications that were not part of the originals? Also, reproductions by some manufacturers seem accurate in photographs but the cases are 'resized' to fit modern tastes and, no doubt. wrist sizes (see post above). We didn't specifically discuss the 1941 Tonneau model, but I hope they do a version soon.

Even more coincidentally, I have just had a vintage Longines dial re-enamelled by Chris Heal at Chealwatch. He has done an exceptional job, in my opinion. Here is a photograph of the actual watch, which he has added to his website.

http://www.chealwatch.com/longines.htm

I would recommend his work (and prices) to anyone seeking similar restoration work to be done.

 

[PADDY]

So who can name this watch of Bogart's...?

This is a very nice looking watch on the wrist of Bogie, but can anyone name what it is..? please (obviously some type of chronometer).

 

[H.Johnson]

For people who want to know what wristwatch was habitually (or contractually) worn by which star, I can recommend (to a certain extent) Les Montres des Stars by Gilles Lhotte.

There. I never thought I'd recommend a book by M. Lhotte. It's in French, by the way.

 

[scotrace]

What is the origin of those shots, Paddy?

 

[PADDY]

Photo origins.

Scott: A portrait shot of Bogart used on the front of a biography of him, called: "BOGART" by AM Sperber & Eric Lax.

 

[Vornholt]

Those last photos look a lot like my Aero-Compax.