Very few French watch brands have made a lasting impression, but the watch manufacturer Lip is definitely one of them. The fondness that Xavier Broise, co-founder of Avel and Men, has for this company is very deep since his father gifted him an automatic Lip Nautic, on his 16th birthday.
So when Avel and Men started selling vintage watches, offered with a leather strap from their collection, it was quite natural that Lip stood out as the ideal brand. Let’s focus on the Lip Geneva chronograph from the 1960’s which is this month’s selection.
Watch Manufacture Lip: watchmaking excellence à la française
The story of Lip’s journey as a watch manufacturer mirrors the evolution of the French Nation. The History of France with a capital H. In 1867, Emmanuel Lipmann founded a watchmaking workshop in Besançon, with his two sons: the Lipmann counter. It is only in 1896 and with the introduction of the Lip chronograph that the brand took the name that we still know today.
More than a century and a half followed, marked by ups and downs. The highs are very high (first electronic watch in 1952, first watch water-resistant to 200m under water in 1967 with the Nautic, collaborations with Breitling and Blanpainc in the 1960s). The lows are unfortunately just as low and lead to liquidation in 1977.
However, the company remains deeply rooted in the collective memory and is an integral part of the French watchmaking heritage. After several attempts to relaunch the brand with varying degrees of success, it was finally SMB (Société des montres bisontines) that relaunched production in Besançon in 2015.
After Churchill in the 1940’s, de Gaulle in the 1950’s and Maurice Herzog at the top of the Himalayas, Emmanuel Macron’s wrist is never seen without its Lip Dauphine, adorned with a tricolour bracelet. SMB has also won the contract to supply the watches of the GIGN troops, proving, once again, if that were needed, the precision and robustness of their mechanisms.
Lip and Avel and Men: a common vision of French watchmaking excellence
In early 2020, Avel and Men started regular sales of vintage watches, offered with a bracelet from their collection. As always for the Breton brand, the idea is to transmit its passion for vintage timepieces, and therefore to carefully select original pieces that have a story to tell. The quality and individuality of the watches are consequently more important than quantity.
Avel and Men sees in Lip common values, including precision, a certain taste for technical challenges, as well as a desire to innovate through design. The two brands also frequently proved their attachment to traditional watchmaking and French know-how. Avel and Men demonstrates this throughout its collections, systematically opting for French production and working with French suppliers. Choosing a Lip Genève chronograph from the 1960’s to begin this series of vintage sales was therefore an obvious choice.
It is also a celebration of the spirit of generations. That of the French troops who came back from the battlefield with their Lip carefully preserved in their knapsack, looking forward to finally seeing their family again. Continuity – as Xavier Broise’s father gifted him this great vintage Nautic.
Swiss Lip Chronograph, a guarantee of quality and excellence
During its history, Lip Manufacture has used many mechanisms, created in France, Germany and Switzerland. However, not all of them are of equivalent quality and connoisseurs prefer references originating from the Besançon or Swiss manufacture. The Swiss Lip chronograph proposed for sale by Avel and Men has the particularity of having a bridge signed Lip Genève: a striking detail invisible from the outside, a little solitary pleasure for its owner. This Swiss movement is moreover a pledge of quality, implying precision, reliability and impeccable finishing.
Lip Genève was founded by Fred Lip in Geneva in 1959, with the aim of taking advantage of the Swiss reputation and know-how to develop the highest quality Lip models. This Lip Genève chronograph stands out thanks to its Valjoux 7730 mechanism, which has helped to make the brand popular throughout the world.
It is no coincidence that Valjoux SA sold its mechanisms not only to Lip at the time, but also to other renowned brands such as Breitling, Yema and Heuer. To this day, collectors still enjoy finding this Valjoux 7730 movement in Yema Yachtingraf and Daytona, Heuer Camaro or Breitling Top Time.
Lip stop watch on Avel and Men leather strap
This Lip Genève chronograph from the 1960s was produced at the same time as the famous Breitling Top Time chronographs, and has nothing to envy them. Its two-counter dial and its round push-buttons are the perfect complement to an all-steel monoblock case from which the movement can only be removed through the glass.
The whole fits in a 36 mm diameter excluding the crown, a very interesting size as it is neither big nor small. This Lip Genève chronograph offers the luxury of dressing every wrist and can, for this reason, be the perfect gift idea. The pleasure of the future owner of this watch will only be reinforced by the fact that this chronograph with its pure and atypical design is now quite rare, especially in this condition.
The watch is proposed with a 19mm Pointe Claire ostrich skin watch strap. For an even more dressy touch, the buyer can enjoy putting on a black or camel alligator strap, Hamilton Island model, or alternatively change the look with a Tampa navy canvas strap for the summer period.
A rare thing: the watch is sold with its original box, a definite asset for the purchase of a collector’s item. When travelling, however, we recommend the use of the voyageuse Geneva for safe transportation, or a larger watch roll to carry more watches (Ploumanac’h three watches model, or Cannes six watches model for example).
Chronograph Lip 1960’s: technical specifications
- 1960’s
- One-piece steel case (the mechanism can only be removed from the top)
- Diameter: 36mm (excluding crown)
- Chronograph 2 hollowed-out counters (seconds at 9 o’clock and minutes at 3 o’clock)
- Tachymeter scale
- Round plungers
- Steel indexes and hands
- Applied index and logo
- 19mm horn spacing
- Logo of the city of Besançon, from where the Lip house originates, engraved on the back of the box
- Ostrich Pointe Claire watch strap
- Sold in its original box
Mechanism
- Mechanical hand-wound gauge
- Movement Lip/Valjoux 7730 Swiss (17 jewels)
- Bridge Lip Genève
