Leonidas chronograph, black gilt dial

SPECIFICATIONS

Reference  
Year   1950
Diameter   35.0 mm
Movement  
Dial color   Noir
Case material   Stainless steel
Bracelet material   Leather
Accessories

CONDITION

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

Leonidas

Before TAG Heuer, there was Heuer-Leonidas. And before Heuer-Leonidas, there was Léonidas: a name that traces back to 1841 in Saint-Imier, a small town in the Swiss Jura that punched well above its weight in the history of timekeeping.

It was Julien Bourquin who started it all, developing an early obsession with measuring short intervals of time, a focus that would define the brand's identity for well over a century. His son Ferdinand turned the workshop into a proper factory, and a chronograph patent filed by Ferdinand in 1892 was even taken up by Alfred Lugrin, the man who would go on to found Lémania.

The Léonidas name first appeared officially in 1902, and from there the company built a reputation as one of Switzerland's most serious producers of chronographs and stopwatches.

In 1964, Leonidas merged with Heuer, and the combined entity became the largest manufacturer of stopwatches and chronographs in Switzerland. During those years, a Leonidas movement might sit inside a Heuer-dialed watch, or vice versa — a behind-the-scenes role that collectors have since learned to appreciate. When TAG acquired the group in the 1980s, the Leonidas name was quietly retired.