1930's Steel Vertex 15 jewel Manual Winding Watch
A vertex watch from around 1935 with a 15 Jewel movement which we have had serviced - The watch is excellent, and we have been careful not to over restore the watch which is almost entirely original.
This would have been worn by a pilot, or someone from the services, it is civilian rather than military, but not in the least ornate - A very tough character!
Steel 28mmx36mm case.
Vertex is a historic British watch brand renowned for its deep-rooted connection to the British Military and its status as the only British-founded member of the legendary "Dirty Dozen" watchmakers. After vanishing during the quartz crisis, the brand was passionately revived by the founder's great-grandson.
The company's story began in 1912, when a 27-year-old watchmaker named Claude Lyons borrowed £1,000 from his father-in-law to establish the Dreadnought Watch Co. in London's jewellery district, Hatton Garden. The company earned an early reputation for robustness and was commissioned to supply watches to the British military during World War I. In 1916, Lyons officially registered and founded Vertex Watches Ltd, establishing simultaneous headquarters at 37–38 Hatton Garden in London and 133 Rue de la Paix in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. Vertex specialized in importing high-quality Swiss movements, casing them in British-made cases (often by the Dennison Watch Case Company), and distributing them. Over the next two decades, Vertex grew rapidly: [1, 2]
1927: Vertex became the exclusive UK importer of luxury Movado watches.
1931: The brand collaborated with Swiss manufacturer Revue Thommen to build a highly durable line of steel "All Proof" watches, cementing a partnership that led to dual-branded Vertex-Revue timepieces. By the late 1930s, Vertex had grown into one of the largest watch companies in the United Kingdom. World War II brought both devastation and the brand's most defining historical chapter. In 1940, the Vertex Hatton Garden showroom was destroyed by a German Luftwaffe bombing raid during the Blitz. Undeterred, Claude Lyons’s son-in-law, Henry Lazarus—who was serving as a Captain in the British Army—was tasked by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to help procure a new, ultra-reliable custom timepiece for military personnel. The MoD required a standard production unit under the specification W.W.W. (Watch, Wrist, Waterproof). Vertex became one of twelve strictly vetted manufacturers—alongside Omega, IWC, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Longines—to fulfil the contract. Collectively known to history as the "Dirty Dozen," Vertex held the unique distinction of being the only British-founded company among the twelve.
In 1944, right in the midst of D-Day preparations, Vertex delivered 4,652 units of their historic Calibre 59 W.W.W. navigation watch. These watches featured the military "Broad Arrow" property mark on the dial, a matte black face, luminous hands, and a recessed sub-second dial for maximum legibility. Following the war, Vertex transitioned its production focus back toward high-quality civilian watches. Propelled by its wartime prestige, Vertex thrived throughout the 1950s and 1960s, climbing the ranks to become one of the top ten watch producers across Europe. However, the 1970s brought the devastating "Quartz Crisis," during which traditional mechanical watchmakers were systematically undercut by cheaper, battery-operated quartz watches from Asia. Compounded by the expiration of their London property lease, Henry Lazarus made the difficult decision to close down Vertex in 1972.
After sitting dormant for 44 years, Vertex "ticked back to life". In 2016, Claude Lyons’s great-grandson, Don Cochrane, re-incorporated the company. The revival served as a cathartic tribute to his grandmother, who passed away at 99 years old. The reborn brand honors its roots by seamlessly combining British design with hand-finished Swiss mechanical engineering. [1]
