Vintage Aster Wig-Wag, Swiss Self-Winding Automatic, Art Deco Tank, Caliber 19-4, Roller-Winding Movement, Men's Watch from 1930's

This is one of the more remarkable footnotes in the history of the automatic watch. The Aster Wig-Wag was patented in 1931 by Louis Müller & Cie - the Fabrique d'Horlogerie La Champagne in Bienne - at the very dawn of the self-winding wristwatch, when no standard yet existed and makers were pursuing radically different solutions to the same problem. Rather than a rotor, the Wig-Wag winds by "roller winding": the entire movement slides back and forth inside the case frame, and that motion alone winds the mainspring. The hinged bezel that conceals the crown and the sliding inner carriage are unmistakable, and they remain a favourite among collectors of early Swiss horology.

The context makes it more interesting still. Louis Müller was no minor figure - he served for three decades as president of the Society of Watch Manufacturers of Bienne, and in 1931, the same year this watch was patented, he sat as a founding board member of ASUAG, the conglomerate that would eventually become part of today's Swatch Group. Aster was one of his house brands. Roller winding was ultimately a technological dead end, soon overtaken by the perpetual rotor, and that is precisely why so few of these survive. What was once an experiment is now a genuinely uncommon piece of watchmaking history.

The rectangular Art Deco case suits the period exactly, and the silvered dial has aged into honest patina, with faint foxing that reads as genuine and untouched. Applied faceted baton markers, a "WIG-WAG" signature beneath twelve, the "Aster" star logo at the centre, a subsidiary seconds register at six, and blued steel hands complete a dial that is restrained and quietly confident.

If you're interested in the history of the Wig-Wag automatic movement read our article:

The Aster Wig-Wag: The Strangest Automatic Movement

CASE:

• Rectangular Art Deco case 
• Hinged bezel concealing the winding/setting crown
• Sliding inner carriage - the "roller winding" self-winding construction
• Case dimensions: 25mm x 40.7mm
• Thickness: 8.4mm

DIAL:

• Silvered dial with honest age patina
• "WIG-WAG" signature and "Aster" star logo
• Applied faceted baton markers, no numerals
• Subsidiary seconds at six
• Blued steel hands

MOVEMENT:

• Swiss self-winding "roller winding" movement, Aster Caliber 19-4
• 15 jewels, lever escapement, 18,000 A/h
• 8.75''' base caliber driving the mainspring ratchet directly via the oscillating carriage
• Patented 1931 (D.R.P. 529785), Louis Müller & Cie / La Champagne, Bienne