Of all the watch categories that seemed to be in excess through the late 1960’s and 70’s, the “skin divers” were definitely one of them. Whether brand names, private labels, department store offerings, or otherwise, they came in a vast array of styles and flavors. At the top of the heap would be the solid stainless, automatic variations if you ask many.

Although the Gotham brand of watches doesn’t seem to have much detailed, precise history throughout the decades, the clear connection with New York is undeniable. These watches, at least by the 1950’s, appear to have been a product or closely related to the Ollendorf Watch Co., of La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, and New York. Import companies like Ollendorf very commonly sold numerous brand names through their supply chain, especially when bringing Swiss made watches over to the States.

If you’re a New Yorker, or have New York ties, you’ll likely be drawn to a piece like this; but hey, maybe you grew up on Batman like we did! If so, you’ll certainly find appeal in such a well preserved skin diver.

For starters, this piece sports a 37mm case width, with a 38+ mm faded metallic bezel. These ‘import’-style diver watch cases ae very well known for appearing and being in fashion in the last of the 1960’s and on into the 1970’s. When you see them, you can often know within a few years when that timepiece was manufactured. This particular case is in exceptional, sharp condition.

Moving inside the case, we have an enjoyably aged gloss black dial, with classic (and highly-desirable) lumed diver markers and hands—complete with lollipop sweep seconds—hiding an A. Schild 1701 motor inside that is running strong.

For a solid stainless-cased, automatic skin diver, especially one that is a rarely seen brand/variant, this one would be an excellent sport model to add to a unique watch collection.

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Case: Solid stainless steel with nice, sharp edges, and overall in excellent shape.

Bezel: Faded to a “ghosted” metallic finish. Only a small amount of original lume pip remains.

Dial: Nice shape with consistent aged gloss dial. Nicely patina’d lume markers.

Hands: Aged, but in very pleasant and consistent shape.

Movement: Running very smooth, strong, and keeping good time.