{"product_id":"leonidas-two-register-chronograph-as01782","title":"Leonidas Two-Register Chronograph","description":"\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe world of horology, with its deep connections, can be likened to a vast, impenetrable forest, entwined at the branches and at the roots. Brands that, from the names at least, don't seem to be connected, often are, through acquisition or familial connections. Take \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/zenith\/products\/zenith-a278-chronograph-box-and-papers\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Zenith A278 Chronograph Box and Papers\"\u003eZenith\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/movado\/products\/movado-datron-hs360-18k-gold-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Movado Datron HS360 18k Gold Chronograph\"\u003eMovado\u003c\/a\u003e, for example, or \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/tudor\/products\/tudor-big-block-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title='Tudor \"Big Block\" Chronograph Reference 79260 Box and Papers'\u003eTudor\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/rolex\/products\/rolex-turn-o-graph\" title='Rolex Datejust Turn-O-Graph \"Thunderbird\" Reference 1625'\u003eRolex\u003c\/a\u003e, or \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/wittnauer\/products\/wittnauer-241t-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Wittnauer Reference 241T Chronograph\"\u003eWittnauer\u003c\/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/longines\/products\/longines-ultrachron-automatic\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Longines UltraChron Automatic\"\u003eLongines\u003c\/a\u003e. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHeuer is a brand that we're all familiar with--particularly its sports chronographs like the \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/heuer\/products\/heuer-camaro-7743n-tropical\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Heuer Camaro Reference 7743N Tropical\"\u003eCamaro\u003c\/a\u003e or the \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/heuer\/products\/heuer-carrera-reference-3647d\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Heuer Carrera Reference 3647D\"\u003eCarrera\u003c\/a\u003e. But the brand's history goes back longer than that, to the late-19th century, when Eduard Heuer patented his first chronograph. As is the case with Rolex, whose 1960s chronographs have attained an almost cult-like reputation (and stratospheric prices at auction), their chronographs from the 1940s and 1950s have attracted the attention of collectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHowever, even these early examples are sometimes going for upwards of \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/thoughts.onthedash.com\/thoughts\/auction-watch-spring-2016\/\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"OnTheDash Auctions Spring 2016\"\u003e$20,000\u003c\/a\u003e for Heuer (let's not even get into Rolex).\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo collectors are starting to get creative, going for less familiar names that are still connected to the ones we know and love. At the time Heuer was producing the Carrera, the company merged with an old, respectable house that itself was purchased by a well-known name in horology. That house is none other than Leonidas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eLeonidas was founded in 1841 in St. Imier, Switzerland, and was purchased by Constant Jeanneret-Droz in 1914. Constant Jeanneret-Droz, in turn, was the son of Jules Frédéric Jeanneret, founder of renowned chronograph èbauche maker \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/excelsior-park\/products\/excelsior-park-tropical-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Excelsior Park Chronograph for the Japanese Defense Force\"\u003eExcelsior Park\u003c\/a\u003e. With an already-strong background in producing chronographs, Leonidas continued to produce chronographs and complicated wristwatches throughout the 20th century, supplying watches to the militaries of the Central and Axis powers during the two World Wars. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis particular chronograph dates from roughly the 1950s, shortly before the merger with Heuer. With its over-sized dial and telephone register at 3 o'clock, it has much in common with this example from \u003ca href=\"http:\/\/shop.analogshift.com\/collections\/watches\/products\/zenith-reference-156d-chronograph\" target=\"_blank\" title=\"Zenith Caliber 156D 18k Pink Gold Chronograph\"\u003eZenith\u003c\/a\u003e. However, while the Zenith is pink gold, the case of this Leonidas is steel and relatively thick, with sharp lugs. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBut touches like the pink gold hour markers and handset give it a decidedly softer look, at home on a fine leather strap, making it a clear choice for a suit watch. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Leonidas","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":28824110593,"sku":null,"price":2500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0809\/1255\/products\/Leonidas_Steel_Two_Register_Chronograph_AS01782_1.jpg?v=1481672617","url":"https:\/\/www.analogshift.com\/products\/leonidas-two-register-chronograph-as01782","provider":"Analog:Shift","version":"1.0","type":"link"}