The story of the A. Wittnauer Company--and the man who founded it--is so inspirational that it could be a film by Ron Howard. Albert Wittnauer immigrated to New York City in the 1870s, a lad of sixteen with ambitions as wide as the Atlantic. He came to work for his brother-in-law, Eugene Robert, an importer of fine Swiss timepieces by brands such as Jaeger LeCoultre and Vacheron et Constantin. His experiences working for his brother-in-law inspired him to make watches of his own, with the reliability and craftsmanship of Swiss watches at a lower price point to appease the thrifty American public. He established the A. Wittnauer Company in 1885, at the age of only thirty-one.

Around that time, Wittnauer became the distributor for Longines watches in the United States, and would often house Longines movements in Wittnauer-branded cases. Together with Longines, Wittnauer gained a reputation for their excellent aviation instruments and chronographs. Aviators such as Amelia Earhart piloted their planes with instruments made by Wittnauer, and daredevil aviator Jimmy Mattern wore a Wittnauer AllProof in his aborted flight around the world in 1933. 

Longines formally bought Wittnauer in the 1950s, and the brand continued to produce exceptional chronographs at a more competitive price point than their Swiss contemporaries. But like so many watch brands, Wittnauer folded in the face of budget crises in the mid-1980s, causing Longines to dissolve their relationship with Wittnauer. Their watches remain, a testament to their ingenuity and elegance.

The watch that we have here, the ref. 3256-228T, has everything you could want in a vintage chronograph. Handsome looks: that patinated dial, those gorgeous Dauphine hands, blued sweep hands in the twin chronograph registers, that brushed case. It's also powered by a dependable movement, the 14Y, a modified Landeron 249 produced especially for Wittnauer. 

If you've been lusting after a vintage chronograph, but don't want the price tag that comes with the big names like Universal Genève and Breitling, then look no further.