1940's Longines "Tre Tacche" ref.5040 w/ extract

SMALL GUY WITH A BIG PACKAGE

Now, I am not going to sit here and spew the entirety of "tre tacche" history to you because I am in no position to do so. With that said, I will try and consolidate some of my knowledge and thoughts.

In the 30's & 40's, Longines robust field watch range-and often military issued-were divided into two main nomenclatures: "Tre Tacche" & "Sei Tacche". We can thank the Italian collectors base for the distinction between three and six notches on the screw down case backs. In this most likely untouched example, we see the exceedingly rare Brequet numeral/central seconds combination. Now, am I a year late on the small watch trend? maybe a little, but this 30.5 mm beauty seems like an awfully good value prop compared to the current craze for steel "Brequet numeral" Patek Philippe cal.96's. In all, everything from the design to historical significance hits on this one...imagine this thing on a period correct bracelet...ooooof.