A law in the United States prohibited any ‘mutilation’ of coins on its territory, but after months of complicated negotiations, Corum succeeded in obtaining an exemption, the work of cutting out the coins being carried out in Switzerland and not in the USA. Yet, the Coin Watch almost did not see the light of day. To add to this, these coins were withdrawn from circulation during the Roosevelt era at the beginning of the 1930s, following the Great Depression, and because of their rarity, quickly acquired value as a collector’s item. In choosing the $10 American Eagle or the $20 American Double Eagle, Corum immediately became a watch icon in the USA. This model was unique and patented in 1964. The ultra-thin movement was thus placed between the two faces of a cut out coin and enclosed by the circular case whose edges were grooved like those of coin. René Bannwart, Corum’s owner at the time, decided to eliminate the pocket watch’s cover and use the face of the coin as the dial, an innovation that was made possible by the appearance of the sapphire crystal. But they used one side of the coin as a retractable cover, while in the latter, the coin served as the caseback a fragile system that was easily damaged. Some pocket watches, equipped with a protective cover, had already used coins in their design, and some watchmakers had tried to use coins in wristwatches.

Corum premiered its ‘Coin Watch’ along with the slogan Time is money, which would rapidly transform into Time in money.

The year was 1965 the place was the Basel fair.

Coin watch face