In its day, Rotary Watches Ltd. and its winged wheel logo were widely recognized. Founded in the Swiss watchmaking center of La Chaux-de-Fonds in 1895 by Moise Dreyfuss, the brand later had a strong connection with the UK market and eventually was headquartered there. It was awarded a contract in 1940 from the British government to be among the suppliers of field watches for the army, but not a lot of these are around today.
Later, it was a prolific producer of chronograph and dive watches, and these now largely characterize the brand’s presence on the vintage watch market. One of Rotary’s most important models was the Aquaplunge dive watch, and while the brand’s historical catalog is varied, we found some cool examples in a diver and a diver-chronograph below.
Rotary remained family-controlled under the Dreyfuss Group (which includes watch maker Dreyfuss & Co.) until its sale to Chinese conglomerate Citychamp (owners of other Swiss watch companies like Corum and Eterna) in 2014. Rotary today produces a range of reasonably affordable quartz and mechanical watches, some of which are meant to recall its past.
Rotary Aquaplunge Diver
What We Like: From the 1960s, this only slightly weathered diver is styled and aged in just the way that modern watch brands want to emulate with their endless “vintage-inspired” releases — but it’s hard to beat the originals that had to build their own character. With a diameter of 36.5mm, it will wear more like a dress watch, but one that has an undeniably cool, sporty, retro vibe.
From the Seller: Stainless steel case showing wearing marks and scratches. Automatic movement in good working condition and keeping great time, movement has recently been serviced. Asking £1,325.
