Vintage Solar
No, it's not solar-powered, Solar is the brand. After doing a little checking I discovered that Solar was the "house brand" for watches sold by Eaton's, a Canadian department store chain that is apparently very well known there (although now out of business.) Eaton's contracted with a number of well-known watch manufacturers to provide Solar-branded watches, including Tudor and Gallet. The engraving on the back mentions Hewetson Shoes which is another Canadian company that I've never heard of but were pretty big. Since Gallet was providing watches for Eaton's from at least the 1940s well into the 1960s, and this watch is most likely from 1952, I suspect this one is also a Gallet. I couldn't get the caseback off to satisfy my curiosity, but I did manage to cut myself in the process. I stopped trying at that point. I do know the movement is Swiss and has 21 jewels, as indicated on the dial. It's a pretty typical size for a vintage watch of this era, about an inch across, with a good condition gold-filled case and curved crystal. The dial has some age to it, but the applied gold numerals still look pretty nice. I don't know if it's been serviced as it's another watch my dad got from eBay or the like, but it's been keeping excellent time all day.
No, it's not solar-powered, Solar is the brand. After doing a little checking I discovered that Solar was the "house brand" for watches sold by Eaton's, a Canadian department store chain that is apparently very well known there (although now out of business.) Eaton's contracted with a number of well-known watch manufacturers to provide Solar-branded watches, including Tudor and Gallet. The engraving on the back mentions Hewetson Shoes which is another Canadian company that I've never heard of but were pretty big. Since Gallet was providing watches for Eaton's from at least the 1940s well into the 1960s, and this watch is most likely from 1952, I suspect this one is also a Gallet. I couldn't get the caseback off to satisfy my curiosity, but I did manage to cut myself in the process. I stopped trying at that point. I do know the movement is Swiss and has 21 jewels, as indicated on the dial. It's a pretty typical size for a vintage watch of this era, about an inch across, with a good condition gold-filled case and curved crystal. The dial has some age to it, but the applied gold numerals still look pretty nice. I don't know if it's been serviced as it's another watch my dad got from eBay or the like, but it's been keeping excellent time all day.
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