1970 Buren Cal 18 Manual Winding Tank Watch
Just about the height of cool by tank watch standards!
Serviced, and running to time, dating to 1970, this was a 20 year presentation watch for ICI - Imperial Chemical Industries - Dulux paint etc.
The 26mmx38mm case is as perfect as could be, the alabaster dial is aged at the edges as the pictures show, but looks pretty good none the less - New high end strap.
The Buren Caliber 16 is a vintage, mechanical manual-wind movement, primarily produced in the mid-20th century. It was famously used in a variety of classic dress and rectangular/tank-style watches during the 1950s and 1960s
Buren History
The company was established when London-based firm H Williamson Ltd acquired the existing Swiss workshop of Fritz Suter & Cie. Leveraging Swiss manufacturing and British capital, the facility initially produced high-quality pocket watches and table clocks, eventually adopting the formal trade name "Buren Watch Co." around 1916.
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 bankrupt the British parent company. In 1932, employees and Swiss capital investors bought the factory, restructuring it as an independent Swiss firm named Uhrenfabrik Buren AG.
Following World War II, Buren shifted heavily toward automatic wristwatches, introducing its first automatic caliber in 1945.
In 1954, Buren's technical director Hans Kocher patented the micro-rotor (or "planetary") winding system. By integrating a small oscillating weight into the main plane of the movement rather than layering a large rotor on top, Buren significantly cut down watch thickness. This invention debuted commercially in 1958 with the ultra-thin Buren Super Slender line. The technology was so significant that premium brands like Patek Philippe and IWC licensed or replicated the concept.
In 1966, Buren was acquired by the American Hamilton Watch Company. Hamilton shifted much of its own manufacturing to Buren's highly efficient Swiss factory.
The Race for the Automatic Chronograph: Buren played an instrumental role in "Project 99"—a secret joint venture alongside Heuer, Breitling, and Dubois Dépraz. Buren’s thin "Intra-Matic" micro-rotor caliber served as the foundational base for the Chronomatic (Calibre 11), released in 1969 as one of the world's very first automatic chronograph movements.
The quartz crisis and a shifting corporate landscape quickly caught up to the manufacture. In 1971, Hamilton (and Buren with it) was absorbed by the SSIH Group (a predecessor to today's Swatch Group). Production at the Büren an der Aare factory ground to a halt, and the facility was formally liquidated and sold off in 1972, bringing an end to Buren's 74-year manufacturing run
