Wakman Diver Chronograph ref. 1382 "Big Boy" Watch Only

Tax avoidance is a story as old as time, and it’s where Wakmann’s story begins. In a bid to take advantage of the high tariffs that prevented most Swiss watchmakers from exporting their watches to the US, Icko Wakmann founded Wakmann in 1946 to buy Swiss watch parts, assemble them in the US and sell them under his own name. Forming an agreement with Breitling in 1947 where Wakmann would assemble Breitling’s movements and components and sell them, the brand really took off and became known for tremendously well-made watches thanks to the quality of Wakmann’s supply chain. Away from the Breitling-adjacent and Breitling co-branded pieces, though, Wakmann sold its own range of sports chronographs, many built by Gigandet, and the boldest of them is the watch that collectors now call the Big Boy, which is exactly what we have here. 

Coined by the collector @watchfred to cover a sprawling family of variants that shared no single catalogue reference, and to give them some identity beyond “diver’s chronograph,” these watches are identified by their thick 40mm case with a heavy screw-down caseback, a broad rotating bezel, short chamfered lugs, and water resistance quoted at 600 feet, which made it a rather functional dive chronograph, especially for the time. 

Offered here, we have the Wakmann Big Boy ref. 1382 from the late 1960s, with a stunning two-tone white and grey dial that boasts an appealing burst of colour through its bright orange hands and aged lume that has turned a nice creamy tone. Sporting applied indices and a black bezel ring atop its stainless steel case (which is rarer than its chrome-plated counterpart), this late 1960s diving chronograph rewards additional viewing. A relatively affordable chronograph given its age and history, this is a watch that any mid-century chronograph collector would be glad to have in their possession.

Presented in very good condition, this example does boast several signs of wear and tear but nothing too out of the ordinary given its age. Its 9 o’clock midcase does exhibit some denting, but that is the worst of it as far as its case goes. The dial is clean throughout and has no spotting. The lume has aged evenly throughout. The orange hands do exhibit some fading, and the central chronograph hand was glued onto the central pinion in order to keep it secured. The bezel insert is in very good condition for its age. The hour and minute hand do exhibit small patches of rust on their exposed steel parts, but these are very hard to see with the naked eye. The stainless steel case remains unpolished, and the bevels on the lugs are incredibly sharp. The manual-wind movement runs and functions as it should.

Brand: Wakmann
Model: "Big Boy"
Reference: 1382
Set: Watch only
Year: Circa 1969
Dial: Grey and white
Material: Stainless steel
Movement: Manual-wind
Case Diameter: 40mm
Thickness: 13mm
Lug-to-lug: 48mm
Weight: 30g
Lug Width: 20mm
Bracelet/Strap: Third-party leather strap with a third-party stainless steel pin buckle