Tourneau PVD Chronograph Ref 712451

About This Watch:

Produced in the 1990s for retail giant Tourneau, the Ref 712451 Chronograph features a unique PVD-coated case with a mono-bloc lug design and a hearty Lemania 1873 manual wind movement.  

The History:  The Tourneau Company began as a jewelry store in 1900 in Eastern Europe.  After immigrating to New York in 1924, the Tourneau brothers opened a small shop with a watch counter inside the Berkshire Place Hotel.  Their growth continued in 1930 and 1940 with the opening of two full stores in New York on Madison Ave, as well as across from Penn Station, respectively.  It wasn’t until the early 1990s that Tourneau opened its first West Coast store, with its location in South Coast Plaza Mall in Costa Mesa, CA.

The Watch:  The Tourneau Ref 712451 Chronograph features a 36mm PVD-coated case.  The dial is black with a raised outer tachymeter ring and three sub-dials at the 3, 6, and 9 o’clock positions for chronograph function and running seconds.  A Lemania 1873 manual wind movement powers the 712451.

The Details:  This Tourneau Ref 712451 PVD Chronograph comes on a PVD-coated bracelet.  The case and bezel show some wear and are consistent with the age of this timepiece.  The dial is in excellent condition, with all tritium hour markers present, and having developed a cream-colored patina.  There are scratches present on the crystal, which are visible in the photos.