# Info required on Livano watch



## Jimmyjones (Oct 29, 2016)

Hi, newly registered member on this forum after reading through the many threads for a few days. Posters here seem a knowledgable crowd so I hope to learn something about my small watch collection.

Does anyone know anything about my latest purchase, which is a 'Livano' Automatic, 25 Rubis, Shockproof, Antimagnetic ?

Country of origin?

Approximate age?

Any information appreciated


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## brummie1875 (May 2, 2016)

*Not your model, but so little about this brand im afraid.*

*http://www.horlogeforum.nl/t/livano/4590*


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## gimli (Mar 24, 2016)

Age is 1950s. Can't say more about it though...


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Have to agree with @brummie1875 trawled through my references, nothing I'm afraid.

There was hundreds of small name brands throughout the 50/60's, but sadly disappeared, I think your watch dates to 50's.

Suspect the movement may be? a Felsa 690/4000 cal, if proved to be, a well regarded movement used by many brands!

If you can (safely) pop/screw the back off & post a picture may be able to offer more information.

Your doing the right thing enquiring, by doing so you will expand your knowledge & gain confidence for future purchases.

Enjoy the journey & good luck.

Alan


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## Jimmyjones (Oct 29, 2016)

Many thanks for your replies and I have taken a picture of the movement although my camera is not the best in low light.

The only lettering numbers are: Adjusted M 25 Jewels and the number 1162 on the actual movement.



240T - 2137 is also scratched on the inside of the case back.


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## Karrusel (Aug 13, 2016)

Hi

Pictures are a big help!

It is in fact a 'Durowe 1152 cal' movement, manufactured from mid 50's to early 60's, the company was established in Pforzheim, Germany in 1933.

It was also associated with Laco watches.

In 1959 the two brand names were sold to the Timex corporation.

In 1965 the Durowe brand was sold to Swiss conglomerate ETA.

The fact the rotor is stamped 'adjusted' puts it above a basic production movement in terms of quality, to what degree is not stated in terms of numbers (number of adjustments).

All in all an a vintage watch with an interesting movement/brand history.

Enjoy :thumbsup:

Alan


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## Jimmyjones (Oct 29, 2016)

Thanks again yo all of you for your patience and help.

I now know a lot more about my watch than I did yesterday.


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## Always"watching" (Sep 21, 2013)

Well now, I have done a bit of research and I can tell you the following - which isn't much:

1) There are no specific brand or company references to Livano that I can find. Given the number of surviving Livano-marked watches still around, some of which seem to be of good quality, I would have expected more information to arise as I did research on your watch. One thing I would say about your watch is that it seems to date from the mid-1950s and certainly is unlikely to have been made much after then. It would seem that Livano watches are a name worth keeping in mind and collecting, hopefully with revelations about the brand coming to light in the future.

2) There are extant mechanical Livano wrist and pocket watches from the 1950-1970 period and some of these are in gold or silver as well as base metals. The most productive years for Livano-branded watches would seem to be from the mid-1950s up to about the mid-1960s.

3) A number of hand-wind and mechanical multi-jewelled movements appear in Livano watches including 17-jewel manual wind and the Durowe movement in your watch, jimmyjones. Here is a pic of a 17-jewel hand-wind movement that appears in a Livano watch, and it appears to be unmarked. There are even chronographs marked, "Livano," and one extant example from the early 1950s has a Venus 188 caliber movement inside.










(Pic from photobucket)

4) Although the name, Livano, doesn't obviously link to any watch companies, it is interesting that a number of Livano watches are also labelled on the dial, "Nivaflex." Nivaflex is an alloy of iron, nickel, chromium, cobalt and beryllium and was invented by Swiss engineer Max Straumann in the early 1950s. It was, and still is, widely used for watch mainsprings, being tough yet elastic, and came in different "mixes." Although it is impossible to pin down any single watch company that used the term "Nivaflex" on the dials of their watches, I have noticed that many brand names that appear on watches also marked, "Nivaflex," are somewhat obscure and sometimes difficult to track down, like Livano. Using the term, Nivaflex, gave the watch a sense of being a bit special, and watches with company/brand names such as Wonder Watch, Ascora, Olma, Felca, Surex and Anka will be found also bearing the "Nivaflex" designation. Interestingly, some well-known companies also used the Nivaflex designation on some of their watch dials including Enicar and even Seiko. It is a shame that Nivaflex turns out to be no help as a means of tracing the origins of Livano watches.


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