Tropical 1950s Wakmann Alstater Alarm

It's no secret that we are fans of vintage alarm watches. We have reviewed many alarm watches on the C+T YouTube channel. This specific 1950s alarm has taken on an intense tropical patina, but if you look closely this example possesses key details that make the watch worth a closer look. Like the art deco numerals on the dial, the alpha minute and hour hand, and the super cool red-tipped "worm" alarm hand.

There is a bit of an odd twist with this Wakmann alarm, it was made by the Alstater Watch Co and sold under several different brand names including Wakmann and Alsta. Wakmann was the U.S. distributor of Breitling watches from the 1940s through the 1970s. Like Alstater aka Alsta, Wakmann was a New York-based company, and these two companies were founded only two years apart (1948 and 1946, respectively). Both companies imported and cased watch movements for other brands in addition to their own brands making for some unique variants of specific watches under various brand names. However, the movements were all signed Alstater. This is quite common for other watches including the famous ALSTA Nautoscaph aka “JAWS” diver. It is quite likely that there was a business relationship between Wakmann and Alstater, and they likely utilized components from the same sources

This specific alarm would make for a great entry-level vintage alarm watch, the tropical dial and unique key features mentioned above definitely make this worthy of time on the wrist. It would also come in handy for timing things like a parking meter!