Hello Eddie,
Thank you for contacting mearto.com for an appraisal of you family’s Silver pocket watch. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Gent’s, Silver, pendant wound and pendant set, open face pocket watch, retailed by Camerer Cuss & Company, London and made in Switzerland, circa 1919.
Accompanied by a’ paperclip and ringlet’- type silver watch chain with T-bar, as well as the original purchase receipt.
PROVENANCE:
“Belonged to a family member of my parents.”
DESCRIPTION:
CASE: 45mm diameter, three leaf, polished Silver, open face pocket watch with Art Deco paperclip and ringlet type silver watch chain with T-bar, with a silver hallmark on the links, but not fully legible in these photos. However, it resembles the ‘Lion passant’ for English Sterling silver. There is a suppressed ball fluted pendant with absent bow placed at the twelve position. There is a broad silver polished bezel. The back cover (outside) is not shown. The inside of the back cover has the following four hallmarks: the Import mark (The Sign of Leo, in use since 1907) for Silver just to the right of the Purity Mark, an oval with .925 (Sterling silver), the Date Letter mark for London of a lower case ‘d’ indicative of 1919 and the casemaker mark of GS with a cameo with an extension at the top containing the letters ‘GS’ for George Stockwell working @16/18 Finsbury Street, EC, London and listed as a Foreign Agent, meaning he imported foreign gold nad silver items.
DIAL: Art Deco three tier, double sunk dial with enameled Arabic hours, closed minute track, sunken subsidiary seconds dial @ 6, and a sunken dial center marked for the retailer, “Camerer Cuss & Co. London”. The base of the dial should read Swiss Made but the word Swiss has been removed. There are steel skeletonized ‘Lozenge’ hands.
MOVEMENT: This is a split three quarter plate movement. The plates are damascened nickel, unsigned, exposed ratchet and crown wheels, lightly jeweled, lever escapement with a Swiss style index regulator which indicates for certain the movement was made in Switzerland for export to Camerer, Cuss & Co.
CONDITION;
CASE – In average condition with moderate amount of surface scratches. I could not see the outer back cover. The chain has quite a bit of oxidation of the silver and thus is modestly tarnished.
DIAL – In good to very good condition for its age with a bit of flaking between the one and two and the word Swiss has been removed. Otherwise in quite good shape for its age.
MOVEMENT – Could not be fully evaluated because of the blurred photo, but will assume it is original, genuine and perhaps functional.
HISTORY:
Camerer Cuss & Co. was a partnership of David Kuss and Andrew Kammerer who came to London from Germany in 1845 to import and sell Black Forest clocks. The Kammerers and the Kusses were farmers in neighboring villages in the Black Forest and were related by marriage. David Kuss was an astute and energetic businessman who brought a new dimension to the business. In 1867, the firm opened a retail outlet and workshop in London, in New Oxford Street. At the beginning of the First World War there was much ill feeling, even violence, towards anybody with a German sounding name. In some parts of London windows were smashed and shops wrecked. Reports circulated that the police had raided the Shepherds Bush premises, which brought a swift response in the form of an announcement in the national press “we are loyal British subjects”. Even so it was felt prudent to change the spelling of the Family name from Kuss to Cuss.
After 1914 the name 'Kuss' was anglicized to Cuss. The shop eventually had several branches, some of which specialized in selling jewelry. The flagship New Oxford Street shop closed in 1983. Several members of this family have been important historians of watchmaking and have left us remarkable books published in the 20th century.
COMPARABLES:
https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/a-top-wind-pocket-watch-having-white-enamel-dial-marked-3h65r475i0R (gold plated French watch made for Camerer Cuss, sold in 2020 for $13)
https://www.barnebys.com/realized-prices/lot/open-faced-keyless-wind-gold-pocket-watch-7JLMVVV1CS (9k gold example made for Camerer Cuss & Co sold in 2019 for $332)
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/9ct-gold-pocketwatch-2-c-7674695ab6 (9k gold pocket watch with Swiss movement sold in 2020 for 200 Pounds)
https://www.antiquesboutique.com/antique-pocket-watches/silver-longines-vintage-pocket-watch-c1927/itm14731#.YCGVeLBKipo (Silver case Swiss watch, Offered at a RETAIL price of 495 Pounds)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/29109122_a-silver-open-face-pocket-watch-by-camerer-kuss-and-co (Silver with English movement and sold for 70
GB Pounds in 2014)
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Antique-Camerer-amp-Cuss-London-Fine-Silver-pocket-watch-Working-/224325258915?hash=item343ad3cea3%3Ag%3AgncAAOSwJrZf3REt&nma=true&si=UcaJspGzV%252BfhwXYpFtB%252FQVDR47E%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557
(Silver pocket watch made for Camerer Cuss and sold for 216 GBP in 2020)
PRICING:
Considering the size and average condition of this silver pocket watch and watch and looking at those sold previously but within the past couple of years, I feel the fair market value of this watch and chain if offered on the watch market today would be in the range of 90-110 GB Pounds ($120-$150), with retail values being about twice that amount.
Thank you for sending your family heirloom watch into mearto.com for this appraisal. I cannot provide a value that matches what your own sentimental value would be for such a watch. I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com
My best,
David