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Watch Company: Pronto

Discussion area for watches, clocks and all other timekeepers.
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Watch Company: Pronto

Post by watchpalooza »

The first in a series of threads with information gathered from online sources about lesser known vintage watch brands that are undervalued. This one is a brand That spanned the full 20th century before eventually being acquired and disappearing. Feel free to add or correct any details if you know them.

First, an example: Pronto circa 1960’s with Manual Wind FHF 28 Pin Pallet movement, 17 Jewels, 34h Reserve, Shock Protection, 18000 A/h
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"Pronto Watch Co. or Manufacture d "Horlogerie Pronto was founded as a watch factory by Leon Maitre in Le Noirmont in 1890. At that time, the company name was still “Leon Maitre & Fils Co., and later "Pronto Watch Co. L. Maitre & Fils SA." The company was also established in Langenthal in 1896. The Pronto brand name was not registered until 1902. At the beginning, cylinder clocks and anchor clocks were manufactured, and various other brand names were entered in addition to Pronto.

Pronto Watch Co. L. Maitre & Fils SA was dissolved on December 7, 2000. The Pronto brand was acquired by Stelux Holdings International Ltd. The Swiss watch factory "PRONTO WATCH CO. / Leon Maitre & Fils SA" was already in 1910 in Le Noirmont u. Langenthal / Switzerland. Nearly 70 "PRONTO-BRANDS" were equipped here with exquisite blanks, predominantly Swiss manufacturers. Among other things, very high-quality military watches were also made for the "German Wehrmacht," by "W. Storz ", in the 3rd Reich, were imported. Verdal (type Tour de France) were a series/type of watches that used to be made by Pronto and mostly distributed in Belgium. The brand name survives, it was bought up by the Stelux group. Verdal was a brand name used "in Belgium", it seems (either made by a subsidiary in Belgium or made for sale in Belgium).

According to the Dutch wiki, Pronto was acquired by STELUX Holdings International Limited, the holding comapny for the Seiko brand.”
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by MoT »

I've had some interest in Pronto for a while, first coming about when I purchased a Hudson's (defunct Michigan department store) branded watch with a Pronto marked ETA 2451.

This is my only watch branded as sold as Pronto. I am completely clueless to the age or model (if it even had a name). All I know is that it contains an ETA 2750 (love that huge balance) and is all stainless steel. My guess is it's from the mid-'70s.
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by TheJohnP »

ManOnTime wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 11:44 am I've had some interest in Pronto for a while, first coming about when I purchased a Hudson's (defunct Michigan department store) branded watch with a Pronto marked ETA 2451.

This is my only watch branded as sold as Pronto. I am completely clueless to the age or model (if it even had a name). All I know is that it contains an ETA 2750 (love that huge balance) and is all stainless steel. My guess is it's from the mid-'70s.

According to the Ranfft guide, that movement was introduced around 1969, so your date estimate aligns.

http://www.ranfft.de/cgi-bin/bidfun-db. ... k&ETA_2750
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by watchpalooza »

^ This is 100% correct, and the 715 should be first half of the 70’s.
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com »

I just got this today, thought it was a normal size pocket watch but when I unpacked it; it Turns out it's the size of my thumb lol but I can't figure out anything about it. Please help !! Would like to know age and if it's worth holding onto! Thank you in advance!!!
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

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Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 6:55 pm I just got this today, thought it was a normal size pocket watch but when I unpacked it; it Turns out it's the size of my thumb lol but I can't figure out anything about it. Please help !! Would like to know age and if it's worth holding onto! Thank you in advance!!!
Pocket watches are not my specialty, but I will try. Would be helpful to take some fresh clear photos...these ones are not the best.

One starting point is identifying the movement. Are there any markings, numbers or letters under the balance wheel? You can look up detail about movements at Ranft.de to find production dates, variants, etc.

We can also use the dial markings...for example the use of “Inabloc” Indicates it was made sometime after 1934. I those are T’s next to “Swiss Made” then the watch would have been made after radium was found to be a health hazard, likely sometime after 1950.

Another avenue is case back...anything written inside or on the back? Also if it is precious metal then their should be a set of hallmarks somewhere that indicate country of origin and date, etc.

In combination, we can use there characteristics to try to focus /narrow the search for information about the watch. It should be mentioned, however, that with defunct vintage brands it is often difficult or impossible to get precise details.

A full set of online resources for researching and finding information on vintage watches is posted as a sticky in our Books and Tools forum here.
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com »

I don't know why the pictures aren't good cause they are good on my phone. I'll try to add more. Thank you for all of that information, look forward to you seeing the clearer pictures! I don't see any markings under the balance wheel and the case back says nickel chrome 1302. Amazing to have people like y'all to help, Im already impressed with your knowledge lol
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com »

Here are a few more photos
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com »

I was admiring it again just now and thought I saw a few scratches under dust cover, but it seemed to have a distinct character to it so I got my phone and zoomed in and saw this, what does this mean( see photo) ? Also I think the movement might be a FHF 281variation from what I can find. But again I'm no expert so all help is appreciated lol
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

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Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 11:46 am I was admiring it again just now and thought I saw a few scratches under dust cover, but it seemed to have a distinct character to it so I got my phone and zoomed in and saw this, what does this mean( see photo) ? Also I think the movement might be a FHF 281variation from what I can find. But again I'm no expert so all help is appreciated lol
This is a watch service mark. Whenever you bring a watch in to be repaired or serviced, they typically scratch a marke on the inside of the case back or in this case dust cover. There is a standard for marking, but few actually follow it. Typically the letters are the initials of the watchmaker and the numbers denote month and year. This looks to likely be July 1987.

The movement definitely looks like an FHF 281: https://www.oldswisswatches.com/watch-p ... s/fhf-281/ . If so, that would likely place this watch in the 50’s.
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by TheJohnP »

The movement could be an FHF, but the tiny size makes me think it isn't a 281.

Compared to the pic of the thumb, the movement is maybe 10mm at most?
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by watchpalooza »

TheJohnP wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 12:55 pm The movement could be an FHF, but the tiny size makes me think it isn't a 281.

Compared to the pic of the thumb, the movement is maybe 10mm at most?
281 is a larger version of the 28...possibly a 28?
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com »

Oh okay, I thought that might be what the markings meant but wasn't totally sure. I wish they would follow the protocol or whatever that way you could know who serviced it, then you could call that company and ask for information and what all has been done to it, maybe even some history on it. I included some pictures of size and it is in mm not inch. And if it is the fhf 28 or the 281 is it a good movement from what we know ? It looks like it is, and someone having it serviced makes me think it's worth something. Is it a good find ? I only paid 26$ on eBay for it. Again, thank you guys for all the help. It is greatly appreciated !! (It literally is the same size of a wrist watch movement, like a Seiko 5 or something similar)
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by watchpalooza »

Almost positive its an FHF 28, which measure 10.5 ligne, or 23.3mm (you measured including the spacer). This was considered to be a high quality movement for the time, as it has a yoke winding system, includes a cap jewel on the anchor wheel, and (in this case) included the incabloc shock absorber system. The two gold-toned chatons on the bridge also set it apart as a higher quality movement.

The dial appears to be original, hands I cannot tell. If you like it then it was a good value. Hope it brings you years of enjoyment.
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Re: Watch Company: Pronto

Post by Wesley.Duncan92@gmail.com »

Yes I do like it, I'm kind of glad it ended up being small and unique, I thought I was getting a regular size pocket watch but after seeing the movement I was in awe. It's so small and so detailed. After I posted that I looked on Google and saw a 28 on the fhf 28 movement so I went to the same spot on those one and sure enough, your right it has a 28 under the balance wheel. Without y'all I would've enjoyed it, but knowing more about it makes it so much better. It keeps times excellent so far. Do you happen to know when they made that style movement? I can't really find anything online but 43-47 but idk if that's right or not.
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