Dear Paul,
Thank you for sending in your repeater pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Gent's, gold filled, keyless, pendant wound and pendant set, quarter repeating, double dial, hunting case pocket watch, one dial with phases of the moon, full calendar with Chinese characters, 'double dial’ model made for the Chinese market, made by J. Ullmann & Company, Chaux de-Fonds & Fleurier, Switzerland, circa 1910. Offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tientsin (China) and Vladivostok (Russia).
DESCRIPTION:
Case: Size not provided but estimated to be 56 mm in diameter, a three leaf, engine turned case with shield for the owner's initials (blank), the other cover left unengraved or "bassine" with the barrel of the case reeded. The markings on the interior of the covers indicate that the case is gold filled with the gilt finish guaranteed to last only five years. This is a very thin microns thick layer of gold, the least amount in use in Swiss watches. There is a gilt slide at the nine position relative to the dial for repeating the quarter hours for the correct time.
Dial: White enamel mean time dial with radial Roman numerals in gilt circular cartouche form, bar shaped outer minute indicators with Arabic five minute markers and a subsidiary second dial @6. Rose gold colored skeletonized Louis XVth style hands. The second dial is white with an enameled calendar dial with Chinese characters for outer date ring, subsidiary days of the week and months, aperture for phases of the moon @6, maker's name in Chinese stick figures @12 and various setting levers found within the bezel. There is a single steel counterbalanced pointer.
Movement: Not shown but should be approximately 42 mm or 18.5 lignes, frosted gilt plate, straight line lever escapement, bimetallic compensation balance, blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator, repeating on two metal gongs which pass around the interior circumference of the case and are activated by a slide in the band. Spots of oxidation where small areas of the gilding have turned dark.
Condition: Case: Not fully pictured but will consider in very good condition from what I can see from these few photos. Dials: Time dial is excellent with some wear to the hands in places where the gilding has been worn off. The calendar dial unfortunately is in poor condition with compound porcelain fractures throughout the dial. Movement - not shown but assumed genuine, original and functional.
Pricing - In perfect condition this is a gold filled watch that would sell in today's market for $5000-$6000. In view of the damage to the calendar dial and the thinness of the gold in this gold filled case that value is at least cut in half. Still a valuable watch to own. The fair market value in today's marketplace would range from $2500-$3000.
I hope that help you to understand the age and condition of your husband’s pocket watch.
It is a rare piece and it must have been dropped at some point in the past which would cause the calendar dial to fracture so badly. Surprisingly the time dial is excellent.
Thank you for using mearto.com.
My best,
David