Lot 164

A collection of 4 deck watches
Agassiz, Watch Co. Swiss, "GCT", Movement No. 23587, Case No. 23587, 53 mm, 81 g, circa 1920
A deck watch with 24h indicator with 24 hours power reserve indicator for the American market
Case: steel. Dial: silvered. Movm.: bridge movement, screw compensation balance.
The designation "G.C.T." = "Greenwich Civil Time" was originally introduced in America to bring some order into the somewhat confusing concept of time measurement: in nautical science 12 noon marked the end of the day, whereas in astronomical usage it was the start of that same day. In article VI of its resolutions the International Meridien Conference in Washington in 1884 expressed the hope that "as soon as may be practicable the astronomical and nautical days will be arranged everywhere to begin at midnight". So "GCT" was, in fact, the same as "Greenwich Mean Time" but with the day starting at midnight. One of the few protests against this suggestion came from the British Royal Navy, who used the abbreviation "GCT" for "Gunnery Control Tower" and expected this to lead to confusions.

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