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The Unworn Ledger

Read the market before the watch is worn

004Reference guidesLW-004

Checking a reference, a movement and a service record

A method for confirming a reference number, identifying a movement and reading a service record before buying a pre-owned or unworn Swiss watch.

Published · bench sheet read to · Hub: reference, movement and service record

Kept by the The Unworn Ledger editorial team · contact@lex-watches.com · edition of

The bench sheet, LW-004

Documents a buyer checks before paying
3 documents
Reference guides this hub opens
7 guides
Checks that need the watch in hand
movement and case
Case measurements published for the references below
The houses publish none of them.

The houses publish none of them. It is drawn as a blank on the bench sheet of Breitling Navitimer: the slide-rule chronograph.

A watchmaker's bench with an open caseback resting on a movement holder, screwdrivers laid in a row on the mat, gloved hands out of frame, lit from the left by a bench lamp.
21/9A movement exposed in a holder on the bench. Look at the caseback and the screwdrivers: this is where a reference is confirmed. Watchmaker's bench, no brand named. Illustration generated with AI.

Every entry in this section

7 entries in this section, bench sheets read to 04/09/2026 The whole ledger
  1. 005

    Breitling Navitimer: the slide-rule chronograph

    The Breitling Navitimer and its slide-rule bezel: how to read the dial, what to compare between examples and what to verify before buying.

    19/02/20261954

    • bench sheet read to 19/02/2026
    • Slide-rule chronograph, read against its own line
  2. 006

    Breitling Superocean Heritage: reading a dive family

    How the Breitling Superocean Heritage family reads across its sizes, and what a buyer compares between examples of the same reference.

    07/03/202642 / 44 / 46 mm

    • bench sheet read to 07/03/2026
    • Dive family, read across its three sizes
  3. 007

    Breguet Tradition: a movement laid out on the dial side

    The Breguet Tradition and its dial-side movement architecture: what is visible, what it says about the house and what buyers inspect.

    22/04/20261775

    • bench sheet read to 22/04/2026
    • Movement laid out on the dial side
  4. 008

    Cartier Tank Francaise: case proportions compared

    The Cartier Tank Francaise and its case proportions: what to measure and compare between examples before committing to a purchase.

    30/03/2026not published

    • bench sheet read to 30/03/2026
    • Shaped case, read by proportion rather than by size
  5. 009

    Reading a service record before a purchase

    What a service record shows, what it omits, and how a buyer reconciles invoices, dates and movement condition before a purchase.

    11/07/2026not published

    • bench sheet read to 11/07/2026
    • What an invoice proves and what it leaves open
  6. 010

    Omega Speedmaster: what carries across the generations

    What carries across Omega Speedmaster generations, which details change and how a buyer uses those changes to place an example in time.

    27/01/202642 mm

    • bench sheet read to 27/01/2026
    • One reference across its generations
  7. 011

    Rolex Datejust: case, bracelet and dial changes

    How the Rolex Datejust changed across cases, bracelets and dials, and what those changes mean when comparing pre-owned examples.

    05/02/202636 mm

    • bench sheet read to 05/02/2026
    • Case, bracelet and dial changes since 1945

All 7 entries of this section are on this page. The ledger is small enough to be read in one sitting.

The other sections

3 neighbouring sections

The ledger also reads by neighbourhood: each section covers the same trade from a different desk.

What belongs in this section

This section keeps one reference at a time, measured against its own generations rather than against the rest of the catalogue.

The Unworn Ledger editorial team

Where this page leads

The entries this one hands off to, named as the ledger names them: