Aureole automatic vintage watch

I found this interesting piece online. I gave it a second look as I wasn't fond of gold watches (though I did get the Olma and that Mido I wrote about last year). I haven't found much about the Aureole watch company from the internet except that they produced some interesting models without hands. This obscure (to me) brand probably was among the companies that closed shop during the 1970s when inexpensive but accurate quartz watches from Japan practically wiped out many Swiss companies that could not match the mass production and competition.

The watch face is classic. I'm not sure what they call it but the texture resembles linen.

A side view shows the 'cyclops' window for the date. This magnifies the display as shown in the photos.

The watch has a simple face showing the brand logo and the date.

Here's another view of the watch face.

The back appears to be worn out but closer inspection showed it to be sanded off (filed off?), perhaps in a crude attempt to polish the back. There is also some damage to the cover and that surely made this watch's value go down significantly.

You can see the evidence of sanding that almost wiped away all the information including the serial number.

Under better lighting conditions, you can decipher some of the original writing: Stainless Steel Back - S[wiss Made] - Incabloc - Non-magnetic. The serial number appears to be '5923'.

Here's the watch also showing the 18mm leather strap. It is a medium as I compared it with the L-size strap on my other watches.

I have not had the back opened but the watch is said to have an Swiss AS 1361 movement. This runs at 18,000 bph with a 38-hour power reserve but the second-hand sweep is smooth as if it were a higher beat movement. I would have to test this and determine if indeed this watch will run close to 38 hours once "fully-charged". So far, it keeps good time and I think is reliable enough to be used regularly.

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