SPACEMAN AUDACIEUSE LIGHT LeMARQUAND 1974
My first purchase that led me into a watch addiction - the rare Spaceman Audacieuse. As opposed to my other square Audacieuse (remains in NOS condition) this watch was proudly worn for some time on a daily basis. This rare version with light from 1974 was only available with a striped mirror-white dial although a few brand names can be found. The large bezel has the same size as the typical square Spaceman but the black basemetal case is very different. It has been fitted with a light module that can be found in a few watches of the 1970's such as Sutton/Sicura Instalite. As the electric part takes a lot of space the watch had to be equipped with a smaller ladies Swiss movement. These are either manual-wind 17j. or 25j automatics and are removed as one assembly with the dial after pulling out the split-stem crown.
The electric module consist of a ceramic white substrate with soldered light-bulb. The assembly is rather not removable and glued firmly into the case. The light-bulb is a standard 1,5V type that can be robbed from any source or bought in an electric store. The watch shown here is my second striped version as the first addicted piece was sold years ago. I did regret it and found it very difficult to source another one but I finally managed to grab one for a reasonable bargain price. This one is here to stay for good :)
Keywords:
spaceman, audacieuse, catena, le marquand
Market value:
150-850$ (condition, leaflet, tags, box)