72c.. I kilka slow ciekawej historii THE NORMANDIE WATCH COMPANY WAS NAMED AFTER THE NORMANDIE OCEAN LINER. THE NAME NORMANDIE ON THE DIAL WITH A SHIPS ANCHOR DEMONSTRATES THIS FACT. THE SS Normandie was an ocean liner built in Saint-Nazaire, France, for the French Line Compagnie Générale Transatlantique. She entered service in 1935 as the largest and fastest passenger ship afloat; she is still the most powerful steam turbo-electric-propelled passenger ship ever built. Her novel design and lavish interiors led many to consider her the greatest of ocean liners. Despite this, she was not a commercial success and relied partly on government subsidy to operate. During service as the flagship of the CGT, she made 139 transatlantic crossings westbound from her home port of Le Havre to New York and one fewer returns. Normandie held the Blue Riband for the fastest transatlantic crossing at several points during her service career, during which the RMS Queen Mary was her main rival. During World War II, after France capitulated to the Germans, the Normandie was seized by US authorities at New York and renamed USS Lafayette. In 1942, the liner caught fire while being converted to a troopship, capsized onto her port side and came to rest on the mud of the Hudson River at Pier 88, the site of the current New York Passenger Ship Terminal. Although salvaged at great expense, restoration was deemed too costly and she was scrapped in October 1946 The first Normandie wrist watches were made in France WITH SWISS MOVEMENTS. Two years after the fall of France, the word "Normandie" for use on watches was registered to a watch company named the Normandie Watch Company, located at 71 Nassau Street, New York City. Their importation code was JXE, which appeared on imported watch movements.