Brand: J.P. Pingouin

Model: Cruisemaster Tide-Indicator Watch (RARE); Swiss Made circa 1960s

Case: Solid stainless steel case with screw-down back is approximately 38mm excluding the unsigned winding crown (appears to be original to the watch)

Strap: 19mm handmade textured calfskin strap with polished stainless steel tang buckle

Movement: AS ST cal. 1803 manual-winding movement (17 jewels) with date display at 3 o'clock and Incabloc shock protection; 18,000 BPH; Swiss Made

Features: Stunning original glossy black dial with incredible yellow patina to the luminous elements and date display at 3 o'clock; original luminous hands with matching yellow patina; original white center sweeping-seconds hand; original black tide-indicator bezel tracks the tide percentages throughout the day; original silver inner rotating bezel independently tracks a second time zone or the tide percentages in a second time zone (i.e. a destination city while sailing); oversized stainless steel case; original domed acrylic crystal with internal date magnifier

Condition: Fantastic original condition overall with minor honest wear consistent with age and use; sharp solid stainless steel "straight-lug" case appears to be completely unpolished; crisp screw-down caseback remains clearly legible with the original brushed finish in the center and a few minor toolmarks; original independent rotating bezels are both in very good condition overall; gorgeous original glossy black dial exhibits vibrant yellow patina to the Tritium luminous elements and some minor wear on the very outer edge between 1 and 3 o'clock; original Tritium hands with matching yellow patina; clean original domed acrylic crystal with internal date magnifier

Other: As purveyors of rare and unique vintage watches, we dream about finding "unicorn" watches. Although that term is thrown around quite loosely in our experience, this ridiculously cool J.P. Pingouin Cruisemaster truly is a rare bird. In fact, we have only uncovered three total examples of the Cruisemaster with this being the only example signed by J.P. Pingouin on the dial (a notable Swiss watch manufacturer of the 1960s and '70s). The other two known Cruisemaster tidal watches were manufactured by J.P. Pingouin for private-label companies. If you're not already familiar with the name, J.P. Pingouin manufactured the bulk of their watches for LeJour and many other lesser-known brands (Kaltron, Thomax, and Welsbro to name a few) - It is quite rare to see their own name on the dial of any watch, let alone on something this awesome. Specially designed for use in high-risk tidal zones, the wearer could easily track the daily tide percentages by simply rotating the outer bezel to line up "HIGH TIDE" with the estimated local time of high tide for that day. The hour hand will then indicate the corresponding tide percentages as time goes on throughout the day. J.P. Pingouin took this initial design one step further by incorporating a second independent rotating bezel. With this secondary inner bezel, the wearer could track the tides in a second time zone simultaneously (very useful if sailing across multiple time zones). As far as tool watches go, it doesn't get much cooler (and rarer) than this.