Expert: Melvin Mills - 12/24/2007

Question
I have my grandfather's Longine watch.  "14k gold D & A" on reverse.  Small second hand cross above where 6 would be.  Diamond chips for odd numbers; circles for even.  Any idea what era this might be or what "D & A" means?

Answer
Richard,

It sounds like it it from the 50's or 60's.  The style of using stones as numbers was quite common back then.  You can find many examples from that era.

Longines is a Swiss watch.  As such, the D and A may referring to French terms. I don't know what they mean.

Longines is a very popular watch. Humphrey Bogart and Charles Lindbergh both wore them.  The company has a very long and illustrious history.  
If you care to know more about the company, I believe I have a PDF book on it's history. I will be glad to send it to you for free if you like.  Let me know.

Kind regards,

Melvin