This is the world’s first automatic wristwatch : Harwood watch. The inventor John Harwood invented the self-winding watch in the 1920s. The movement is the forerunner of the Omega "Bumper" movement and the Rolex perpetual bubbleback movement.
Harwood had difficulty getting a manufacturer to make his watches until Fortis agreed to make them. Another interesting development Harwood incorporated in his watch was the lack of a winding crown. John Harwood tried to eliminate dust from the interior of the watch by removing one of the weak points i.e the crown stem.
To adjust the time without the crown, one needs to rotate the bezel. On the dial of the watch is a red spot that indicates that the alteration clutch is disengaged. The bezel is rotated in the direction you want the hands to move and after setting is complete, the bezel is rotated in the opposite direction until the red spot appears again. The Harwood watches were produced from 1928-31 and the estimated quantities were about 30,000 pieces.
I used to own 2 vintage Harwood watch more than 30 years ago but sold them away for some reason. Recently, feeling nostalgic, I have decided to hunt for one. I used to have one in pink gold round case and another in filigree case during the late 1980s when I first started vintage watch collecting. It was a very memorable time with vintage watch shops such as Good Old Days, Antique watch corner, Eddie Antique watches and Kinghouse watches at Lucky Plaza. These watch shops were where my usual shops for visits during the late 1980s-1990s.
After searching across eBay and the internet and forum, I have managed to find one with the filigree case as below 😊
John Harwood was really ahead of his time with the invention of the first automatic movement as well as the first in having an open back transparent window to showcase the movement.
Left: Normal Harwood back case. Right: back case with transparent window for viewing of movement
The watch that I have found has a transparent glass display back showing the automatic movement. This must be one of the earliest made for salesman’s demonstration watch to show the uniqueness of the innovative automatic movement, the first of its kind , to the watch salesman and customers. Really looking forward to receiving the watch from overseas..
Please visit the site for the history
https://vintagewatchinc.com/genesis-first-self-winding-watch
https://masterhorologer.com/2009/09/07/blancpain-historical-timepieces-harwood-automatic-1926-the-worlds-first-automatic-wrist-watch/
https://www.fratellowatches.com/tbt-john-harwood-and-the-worlds-first-automatic-wristwatch/#gref
From the NAWCC forum, there are another two of such watches with a clear see through back showing the watch movements.
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