Lot 230

Elka

A charismatic, antimagnetic vintage, new old stock wrist chronograph

Sold

The watch is in almost mint condition and powered by one of the best chronograph movements ever – the Lemania automatic calibre 1340, which Omega used in a modified version as calibre 1040. Introduced in 1970, it was the first automatic chronograph movement with 28,800 beats per hour and permitted the use of a central minute chronograph hand; here the hand sits underneath the red and white striped seconds counter.

The name ELKA is made up from the first letters of the names Louis (phonetic sound EL), Kiek and Amsterdam. Louis Eduard Kiek (1883-1974) was a Dutch maker and the founder of the ELKA company. He and his family survived the Nazi terror of World War II; in 1974 his son Ernst Louis Kiek took over the company and continued the business until the year 2000.
ELKA Watch in Amsterdam was one of the first authorised Rolex concessionaires in the Netherlands. They also sold other brands such as Ulysse Nardin, Vulcain, Breitling, Universal, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Blancpain as well as clocks and watches of their own ELKA brand.
Source: https://watch-wiki.org/index.php?title=Kiek,_Ernst_Louis, as of 02/17/2021