1950s Tissot Navigator World Time 18K YG (Ref. 4002-2) 'Cal 28.5N-21T'

In 1853 Charles-Félicien Tissot founded Ch. Félicien Tissot & Fils in Le Locle, Switzerland, with his son Charles-Emile Tissot, a watchmaker. Tissot began as a comptoir d’établissage, which was a network of independent craftsmen who were highly specialized in producing a variety of watch parts, sold to be assembled by various watch companies and then retailed. Tissot’s initial specialty was a focus on luxurious pocket and pendant watches, mostly destined for the United States market.

The brand eventually became one of the world’s most prominent official timekeepers for sports, and naturally offered a range of classic sports watches to bring that expertise to individual wrists.

One such watch was the Navigator World Time, which came as the result of the rapid popularization of global air travel. It features the high-grade cal 28.5N-21T bumper movement, a rotating inner bezel with demarcations for many of the world's major cities, plus an outer bezel with hour markers for 1-12 as well as a complementary inner track with hour markers for 1-24. With all this at one's disposal, keeping track of what time it was just about anywhere in the world suddenly became a simple matter of a flick of the crown.

It's especially interesting to note that this watch actually pre-dated the Rolex GMT Master—arguably the world's most recognizable dual-time wristwatch—by a full year, making this an even more impressive feat. And a gorgeous one at that, with its 18k gold case, shapely lugs, and two-tone dial.