Description
Aeroplane Watch
G & M Lane and Co. London
24-26 Ludgate Hill
London EC4
Steel “Aeoplane” pilot’s wristwatch, sold in the 1930’s by G & M Lane and Co. London.
A rare steel mid-size patented tonneau-shaped manually wound Pilot’s wristwatch.
George Murray Lane, trading as G. M. Lane & Co were based close to St Paul’s Cathedral at 24-26 Ludgate Hill, London, EC1. Established on 9th May 1927, the company were predominantly jewellers and silversmiths but also supplied watches to British Airways, Imperial Airways and flying clubs around the world.
G.M Lane & Co. were listed in the 1937 Aeroplane Directory of the Aviation and Allied Industries. In 1938, the company were advertising their watches with the tag line “The Watch that Pilots Trust”. The marketing advantages for a brand associating with such a glamorous and relatively new form of transport are clear. It is interesting that the advertisements made specific note that waterproof versions of G. M. Lane’s watches were available for an additional fee. The letter from G. M. Lane to the original owner of this watch specifically states: “you will see that the word waterproof is on the dial and the hands are of the block type required”, indicating that this watch was specifically tailored to the purchaser’s needs.
The movement and case of this watch were made in Switzerland for G.M. Lane by the General Watch Co. The inside case back of the watch is stamped with patent no.155825, this patent refers to the special waterproofing system used in the construction of the case and was registered to the General Watch Co by the Swiss Patent Office on 15th July 1932. A copy of the patent accompanies this wristwatch. Please note that due to its age, this watch is no longer waterproof. The movement carries patent no.167231 which refers to the shock protection system. The dial is signed for G.M. Lane & Co., London and is branded ‘Aero’ and marked waterproof.
Up for sale we have a very rare, very early pilots watch made by G & M Lane & Co. This Company produced watches for pilots in the very early days of aviation. This model is called the “aeroplane”. Please read the article below that I found on the internet.
G. & M. Lane & Co., of 24-26,Ludgate Hill, London, E.C.4, have supplied both theAir Ministry and Imperial Airways with watches for someyears, and that alone should be sufficient advertisement for their reliability. One of their products in particular is worthy of mention, the Aero Unbreakable WaterproofWatch. G. & M. Lane have a large selection of watches, and a visit to their shop in Ludgate Hill would be well worth while The article appeared in a publication from an early flight magazine, an e-mail attachement. This watch was probably supplied to an airline pilot who worked for Imperial Airways sometime in the 1930’s.
This is a very rare and quite important watch which dates back to the very early times of British aviation. It will appeal not only to watch collectors but also to aviation enthusiasts.
The dial is original and is in good condition with a light age related patina.
The movement has a jewelled lever and is running well and keeping excellent time.
