Hello Shimon,
Thank you for sending in this silver pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I will try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Gent’s, Art Nouveau, Sterling silver, key wound, open face pocket watch with fancy silvered dial, watch made by Henry Band Jr, London, case attributed to James Walker, Earlsdon Terrace, Coventry, made in England circa 1873.
DESCRIPTION:
CASE – 55.3mm diameter, three leaf, Sterling silver case with foliate engravings and central cameo for the owner’s initials on the outer cover, with the barrel of the case having fine silver filigree work, all very much in the style of Art Nouveau (circa 1870s-1910). The inside of the cover carries English hallmarks: the Lion Passant for Sterling silver, The Leopard Head without a Crown for the London Assay Office, the ‘Olde- English’ style upper case “S” for 1873 and the casemakers initials, ‘J.W’ without a cameo for James Walker of Earlsdon Terrace, Earlsdon, Coventry, London, England. He was a silversmith in London from c. 1854-c. 1884. The cuvette has a single key winding aperture for winding the spring. There is a silver engraved ball pendant and round bow placed at the twelve position which also bears the Lion Passant for Sterling silver and the upper-case letter, ‘Y’. It represents the Birmingham Date Letter mark for this part only, and also indicated the year 1873 in the Birmingham assay Office, not London. The pendants were often supplied by individuals other than the casemaker. . .
DIAL – This is a guilloche silvered dial with elevated gilt Roman hours, dotted minute ring to the outside with a gilt floral wreath around the circumference of the dial, silvered
subsidiary seconds @6, engine turned dial center with foliate patterns (Art Nouveau era). There are Continental style gilt brass Spade hands. The dial is unsigned. . .
MOVEMENT – Frosted gilt brass full plate movement, key wound, stepped and flared balance cock which is fully engraved with foliate designs, the lower step slightly wider than the upper step, bimetallic two arm balance wheel with Breguet hairspring and the index regulator with measure ruler on the plate and marked in English initials for Faster/Slower. The plates are marked, “H. Band Jr. Chronometer Maker, London, 3219”.
(Of note**The Henry Bands, father and son, are NOT listed by Anthony Mercer in his text, “Chronometer Makers of the World”.)
CONDITION: Case – Very Good. Minimal general wear to the back cover and modest amount of surface scratches to the inside of the covers. Dial – Very Good with some small very fine scratches on parts of the dial. Movement – excellent and considered functional. Overall this is quite a beautiful example of the silver pocket watch that the English loved during the second half of the 19th century. This example is signed by the watchmaker and the casemaker and is in much better condition than most that I have examined in doing this work. This is a piece to be proud of!
HISTORICAL:
Henry Band (I) the father, began as a watchmaker in Coventry in 1850. The firm became Henry Band & Son in 1876. Henry Band (II) advertised on his own post 1892 in Coventry. So, I could not find a listing for Henry Band Jr. but would assume that he was an apprentice to his father and when this watch was made in 1873, three years prior to becoming hist father’s business partner, it was made by the son apprentice who then referred to himself as Henry Band Jr.
PRICING:
Comparing this example to other examples with English rather than Swiss movements, fully hallmarked and all parts coming together nicely in terms of the date and the form this watch stands out among most that come up at auction. Most sell in the $400-$500 price range and most are unsigned. The general form of this watch is not uncommon in the marketplace and is late in the 19th century as well which keeps the price down a bit. I believe your example is special and should be priced in the $800-$1000 range of fair market value. Retail price would, course be higher.
I hope this information has been of some help to you.
My best,
David