A Sandwich what!? You read correctly- the sandwich dials were introduced during the 1930s and presented themselves as some of the most intricate, most special features of visual depth one could imagine on a wristwatch. Originally they were made by Stern Frères, the same company that just bought Patek Philippe during that very same era. And this is the story of the origin of one of the most recognizable watch faces.

August 14, 2024

Lunchtime Lecture - Sandwich Dials, Their Origin & History

Marcus Siems @siemswatches
Collector, Author, Data Analyst

I know your thoughts and yes, this will be quite niche today. But at least a niche of our vintage collecting world with an extremely yummy nickname...

They don't look like much of a difference at first sight but Sandwich dials are the watch face equivalent of expressive lug and case-shapes during the late Artdeco era of watchmaking. It is the functional and aesthetic reinterpretation if not introduction of visual depth on the dial. A sculptural enhancement of legibility.

vintage 1930s Universal Geneve Compur in yellow gold A yellow golden Universal Geneve Compur with a Jeanneret case and full 'stick' marker Sandwich dial. Photo Courtesy of S. Song Watches.

1) Construction & Production

The literal 3D effect on these special dials was achieved by mounting two metal plates atop each other and cutting the markers out of the top layer. The underlying metal plate is typically solid gold (or plated) to evoke the maximum visual contrast to the colored top layer. Often the cut out surfaces were used to apply luminous material. You can further see four bolts at the outer perimeter in quarter positions to keep both layers in position (see the top picture as well).

teased apart Zenith Compur Sandwich dial You can nicely see the two layer construction of the Sandwich dial on this 1930s Zenith cal. 146 chronograph. Photo Courtesy of Chrono24.

These immaculate creatures were created by Stern Freres and patented (CH182122A) first sold approximately in 1935^[1] until the early 1940s. And yes, these are the same Stern Freres that bought Patek Philippe just three years prior. The main dial maker to PP and provided other manufacturers at the time^[2] that also remained independent until 1996^[3].

Stern Freres dials were marked with a star on the back (Stern = German for star) and the batch number (four digits) as well as the customer (68 = Zenith). Also on the backside you'll see them stamped 'Depose': This does not indicate that Stern patented this dial type ('Brevet') but it represents a more general trademark for parts of the design.

vintage Zenith Compur chronograph with black Sandwich dial and the dial back A black Sandwich dial on a Universal Geneve Compur with Jeanneret case (left) and the matching dial backside (right). Photo Courtesy of Matt from Matt.Watches.

2) Watch Brands

As you can already see from the photos above there are several manufacturers that have been using these dials on their pieces. So for example you will find them on Longines 13ZN (2-register), Universal Geneve/Zenith Compur (2-register rarely 3-register), Jaeger (UG, 2-register) chronos, Ulysse Nardin (2-register) chronos, Vacheron Constantin & Zenith (sub-second) dress watches.

six example watches with Sandwich dials from various manufacturers Six example Sandwich dials from various manufacturers. Photos Courtesy of Antiquorum, S.Song Watches, Christie's, Phillips, @Subdials, & @Pharos_Vintage_Watches.

As you can also see from these examples there are four main dial configurations that you'll see most prominently on Sandwich dials - full 'stick' 2-register chronograph, 6-12 Arabic with 'stick' marker 2-register chronograph, the full 'stick' sub-second time-only, and additionally the quarter-Arabic with 'stick' sub-second time-only. Interestingly, most of these pieces do also strongly overlap in size. The chronograph pieces for example all share case dimensions of roughly 37-38mm. This is quite large for the time but also showcases that these dials were probably made in one size and one size only.

It further appears that Zenith had the largest variability in Sandwich dials:

Four different Sandwich dial configurations on 1930s Zenith watches. Photos Courtesy of Luxo Time Firenze, Omega Forums, Maruka @junichi1950, & Matt @matt.watches.

By the way you can find Sandwich dials from other manufacturers as well and even in some more modern catalogues. Particularly, Panerai and Omega are still selling models with this dial type. The important side note may here be that Panerai during the late 1930s and 1940s made their own Sandwich dials that dissociated from the Stern Freres construction^[1]. Similarly, Heuer also sold Sandwich-esque dial watches overseas during the 1950s & 60s probably with a different contractor as well.

Example of an early 1940s Panerai Sandwich dial Panerai Radiomir early 1940s Sandwich dial, made directly by Panerai and not Stern Freres. The constructions dissociate and hence you won't find 'star' markings underneath a vintage Panerai dial. Photo Courtesy of Perezcope.

3) Conclusion

In a world where small changes in dial color, hour marker style or numerals can make a "rare dial configuration" the Sandwich dial is a true unicorn! Let that sink in for a moment. It is hard to estimate the total production output for these dials but we're talking about some of the most exclusive dials during a 5 year span of watchmaking when production was generally low. Factor in that we got about 4-5 dial configurations, all in a certain size independent of the watch brand, each example is extremely collectible.

a stunning 1930s yellow Gold Universal Geneve Compur with Sandwich dial The beauty of the 'deep' golden hue of the hour markers contrasting the upper metal dial with differently colored outer scales is impossible to match. Photo Courtesy of S.Song Watches.

Collectible with cutting-edge (pun intended) manufacturing techniques and most importantly visually pleasing. In particular the chronograph pieces are a feast for the eyes, and a cornucopia of contrasts. Alone the differently colored outer telemeter and tachymeter scales against the silver background are an impeccable overload for the vintage chronograph lover ... but when you then literally add another layer of visual complexity it becomes the king of vintage chronograph dials!

1930s Vacheron Constantin Top Winder dress watch with Sandwich dial The dress watch variants weren't half bad either... Photo Courtesy of Ronak Madhvani (@roni_m_29).