Are there any markings on the inside of the case back?

 

.
No, there is absolutely nothing on the inside of the case back.

I wonder if Fortaine was a 'house' brand produced for a large jewelry store somewhere in Europe.
Such was not uncommon.

 

I think that you're probably right. Hong Kong watches commonly had some identification of origin, and likewise the known Soviet-engined US Territories assembled watches.

 

This Fortaine has all the hallmarks of a far east produced watch, probably Hong Kong or Singapore. I would suggest that the brand Fortaine is based on Fontaine i.e. it looks so close it could be mistaken for Fontaine and that this is deliberate. It is a bit like Aseikon which can be shortened to Seiko. The serif font used is typical and the pattern on the dial and the beveled crystal were also common for watches of this origin. The case is interesting as I have not seen one with such a heavy looking bezel. I doubt it was linked to any retailer in the West.

I checked to see if this is on the list of Soviet Watches Brand Names initiated by Mroatman and being compiled by a number of F10 collectors (me included) and it is not yet listed. So, well done Matt_bored_O you have added another one to the list. That makes 189 brand names.

Sekondtime

 

The case is interesting as I have not seen one with such a heavy looking bezel.

lol

Actually, that is my own bezel.

The original was a small, thin brass bezel which was missing when I received the watch.
It was a poor match with the case anyways.

I do not collect watches and I bought it only to wear as a dress watch so I wanted to add some sort of bezel so that I could wear it.
It is easily removed.

I realise making alterations may be considered verboten but again, I'm not a collector, only a wearer, and a rough one at that.

If it is better for the sake of adding photos to the forum's photo collection, I could post a few without my bezel.

Thank you for your info.

 

The brand Fortaine could also be another brand "made in" Westren Europe, I don't have much proof of this except that you do sometimes see the brand Fortaine and that the brand is listed in the Mikrolisk database

It is listed as
Trade Mark: Fortaine
Manufacturer: Georges Saharoff
Location: Annecy, France

It could perhaps be a firm (less succesfull) like Poljot International (Alexander Shorokhoff) I can not seem to find much information except that a mister Georges Saharoff died in Annecy France on june 13 2010.

 

It is listed as
Trade Mark: Fortaine
Manufacturer: Georges Saharoff
Location: Annecy, France

Thank you for your information

This has brought to my mind a vague memory from several years ago.

I think I read somewhere that someone believed Fortaine was sold in several jewelry stores in France.

 

Seems vaguely familiar:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f10/21-jewel-mestis-yugoslavia-3456554.html
https://mroatman.wixsite.com/watches-of-the-ussr/mestis

 

Seems vaguely familiar:

The Fortaine case is very, very similar to that Mestis.

Same movement and is also Anti-magnetic.

The area between the lugs on the Fortaine follows the curvature of the case more than does the Mestis. Other than that, it's nearly identical.
My Fortaine originally had a bezel exactly like that of the Mestis, but it was brass.
The bezel was apparently lost before I bought the watch.