Jardur Bezelmeter with tropical dial

SPECIFICATIONS

Reference  
Year   1960
Diameter   37.5 mm
Movement   Manual
Dial color   Noir
Case material   Stainless steel
Bracelet material   Leather
Accessories

CONDITION

Case  Very good
Dial  Good
Movement  Serviced
Hands  Good
Crown  Very good
Warranty   12 months

Jardur

Some brands never made it into the history books, yet they were there when history was being made. Jardur is one of them.
The story starts in 1937, in New York City. Samuel Klepper, a pilot himself, founds the Jardur Import Company at 874 Broadway. His goal isn't to make a beautiful watch. It's to build a precision instrument for people whose lives depend on keeping accurate time: aviators.
The watch that defines the brand is the Bezelmeter 960 — a chronograph engineered for the cockpit, with a counter-clockwise graduated rotating bezel that lets a pilot track mission duration from the moment of takeoff. Not a fashion accessory. A tool, in the most literal sense.
During World War II, Jardur becomes a quiet but real presence among military pilots. In 1942, James Howard Kendelberger, president of North American Aviation, personally presents a Bezelmeter 960 to Jimmy Doolittle. That watch is now housed at the Smithsonian Institution. It might be the most concise way to describe what Jardur meant at the time.
The brand closes in 1960, when its founder retires and chooses not to sell or pass on the company. No buyout, no rebrand, no dilution. A clean stop, almost consistent with the no-nonsense philosophy the brand had maintained from day one.
For today's collector, Jardur sits in a compelling place: limited production, a well-documented history, and a dial legibility that still holds up sixty years on. These are watches found in estate sales, in the drawers of former pilots. Not at major auction houses. Which is precisely what makes them worth looking for.