Hello Kristin,
Thank you for sending in this pocket watch to mearto.com for a fair market appraisal. Thank you very much for showing me all parts of the watch so that I could understand it better.
TITLE:
Gent’s Sterling Silver, key wound, key set, open face pocket watch with fancy gilt brass dial, dial and movement made by James Widmer, 55 Holborn Viaduct, London, with imported Swiss Sterling silver case, watch made circa 1878-1882
PROVENANCE:
‘Inherited’
DESCRIPTION:
Case: Size unspecified but appears to be a roughly full size, 50mm (2inches) dimeter, heavily tarnished Sterling silver open face pocket watch with push button, round silver ball pendant and bow placed at the twelve position relative to the dial. The back cover of this watch is filled with engraved foliate designs suggestive of the Art Nouveau era in England (Circa 1880-1910), including small foliate forms around the circumference of the barrel, while there is a central gilded cameo in a circular fashion enclosing a shield shaped cameo for the owner’s initials (left blank). The inside of the cover is has an electroplated signature of the owner in script, “W. Poulton, Feb 1917” (owned in the midst of World War I, and who knows what tragedy it saw), and in a rectangular cameo below, “0.950” which is the percentage of pure silver in the case for Sterling silver. Above those marks is the case number, “88036’ and just above that the hallmark of a standing bear, the Swiss hallmark for sterling silver. All of the little scratched markings are repairmen markings. There is a cuvette with a single winding aperture for the mainspring surrounded by engraved edges to prevent scratching the case when winding. . . . .
Dial: A round fancy brass dial with black raised Roman hour chapter ring, open brass dotted minute track to the outside, and along the circumference of the dial a connected ring that was originally gold colored and silvered colored leaves.
There is a subsidiary second’s ring @6 with a second’s bit (which I hope you find). There are steel Continental style spade hands. The round dial center is engine turned with small designs such as rosettes and flowers. The dial is unsigned on the outside.
CONDITION:
Case – Appears to be in fair condition with wear to the engravings and a deeply tarnished case from the formation of Silver oxide from exposure to the air.
Dial – Good condition although quite worn, so that it has lost some color. This style of dial was made from the mid-19th century through the end of the 19th century and even into the early years of the 20th as a decorative type of watch dial.
Movement – English made lever escapement but unsigned.
BITS AND PIECES OF HISTORY:
I am shown a photo of the back of the dial, something no other client has ever showed me. (I have learned from this experience and remain fascinated by it. It proves these fancy dials were made of brass (not any form of gold), with three dial posts that would fit into the movement plate on the dial side. It only makes sense to me that the maker of the dial CAN BE the same man who made the movement since watchmakers are trained to make gears of brass and this is just another version of a creating a decorative object by cutting and decorating brass. The back of the dial is signed “Widmer”.
Brian Loomes of England, in his textbook, “Watchmakers and Clockmakers of the World, 21st Century Edition” lists a watchmaker working in 1881 London as James Widmer. Online the website “U.K. and Irish Clock and Watch Makers (c1600-c1940)” lists “Widmer, James of London. This name appears in the 1882 Post Office Directory of London trade directory in the Watch Makers section at 55 Holborn Viaduct, London (and Clock Makers & Importers).” To make matters even more interesting Philip T. Priestley in his booklet, “Watch Case Makers of England-1720-1920” lists James Widmer as a gold and silversmith working at 55 Holborn Viaduct, London. He made watch cases as well, but not your watch case. That, he imported from Switzerland because it was less expensive to buy a sterling silver case from Switzerland.
Movement: This is a full plate brass movement, key wound and key set, made in England with a monometallic balance wheel in the center with a finger shaped single stepped foot made without any engraving, all in the English manner at the end of the 19th century. The English regulator makes the clock run faster and slower and note he marks it with English initials to indicate which way to push the pointed lever towards F or S. The key winding arbor sits adjacent to the serial number1288030. There is no signature on the movement but it was made in England by James Widmer.
COMPARABLES:
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/104967788_antique-english-silver-pocket-watch (sold for $150 in 2021 and made in Liverpool)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/120400588_fine-victorian-silver-fusee-pocket-watch-english (Sold for $200 in 2022)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/118756763_english-victorian-pocket-watch (passes at auction in 2021 because it could not reach 250 Canadian Dollars)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/114092971_a-19th-century-english-silver-open-faced-pocket-watch (sold for $102 in 2021)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/111119730_english-sterling-silver-pocketwatch-1880 (sold for $100 in 2021)
~https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/95313633_english-silver-keywind-fusee-pocket-watch (sold for $150 in 2020
PRICING:
Well this has been a worthwhile endeavor and made possible by your ability to show me all aspects of this English watch (dial and movement) with a Swiss made Sterling silver case. This was a very common finding throughout the second half of the 19th century, The English watchmakers found they often could save money purchasing cases from out of country compared to making the case in England. Unfortunately, this is NOT an expensive watch. Some people leave the case tarnished as it is, and it will only get darker and others like the sparkling look of Sterling so they polish it. If you sell this watch let the buyer make that decision. I believe the fair market value of this pocket watch would fall into the $175-$225.
A most interesting pocket watch and a watch that we all can learn from. Add to that the fact that it probably saw action in the war to end all Wars, makes it even more fascinating.
Thank you for choosing mearto.com for your appraisal.
My best,
David