About this lot

Description

circa 1908 the gilt floral dial, 23mm diameter, with black Roman numerals, blued spade hands and gold coloured dot minute track, crown wind mechanical movement with hand setting button at 1 o'clock, case, 25mm diameter, imported by Louis Weill ,verso hinged, plain and polished, interior numbered 29063 with London import hallmarks for 9ct gold, the cuvette similarly marked, fitted with later wire lugs, gross weight 16.6g and presented with a detachable expanding bracelet stamped '9ct', a yellow metal brooch fitting, and a woven material and metal 'Albertina', all cased by the Watchmakers Alliance Ltd (4)

Condition report: Until the beginning of the 20th century, watches were generally worn by gentlemen suspended from chains, with the watch housed in the waistcoat or breast pocket - hence the name 'pocket watch' - and watches for ladies were either attached to clothing with a brooch fitting, suspended from a chain around the neck or attached to a small fob or 'Albertina'. However, during the first Word War there was a need by soldiers to be able to see the time quickly and easily without having to rummage in a pocket and pocket watches began to be worn strapped to the wrist with leather. Later, pocket watches had the pendant bow removed and lugs attached to the side and were fitted with a traditional watch strap, and the 'trench watch' was born. It soon became fashionable to always wear the watch on the wrist, so at this time many pocket watches were converted in this way. It was not until later that the dial configuration was changed so that '12' and '6' were positioned at 90 degrees to the wrist as they are today. This was not only because fixing lugs where the winding crown and case hinge were located would be difficult, but also so that the crown rested comfortably on the wrist when worn. The dials were not repositioned as that was 'a watchmaker's job', whereas soldering lugs to the case side was reasonably easy to do 'at home'. In this example, the '12' and '6' are still parallel to the wrist. The bracelet is easily removable but the pendant bow has not been removed, as in later examples. This allows the owner to wear the watch in the traditional manner, or follow the latest fashion and wear it on the wrist. These varieties of watches are known as transition watches as they have not yet completed the full conversion from the pocket to the wrist.

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