2025 deleted member
Well-known member
That’s a 70k skid steer though.🤣
Watches.......the other type!
- Thread starter BritKLR
- Start date
Hey guys. During a recent trip, my kid picked up an antique watch at a second hand store. We're trying to identify it. We found a guy here in town that was very intrigued by it. He is a watchmaker / collector. He guestimated it is from around 1885 - 1890. But that is all he could come up with. He is sending it off to someone in Arizona to get it overhauled. In the mean time, I have been trying to figure out who made it.
I took some pictures of the movements. Didn't take measurements (my bad). The only text I can see is "DEPOSE" on the movements. And 78312 stamped on the back cover. It has 2 hinges to get the cover open and a second cover to get to the movements. There is a really small stamp on the inside cover that I think identifies the maker.
Anyone care to take a shot at identifying it?
I took some pictures of the movements. Didn't take measurements (my bad). The only text I can see is "DEPOSE" on the movements. And 78312 stamped on the back cover. It has 2 hinges to get the cover open and a second cover to get to the movements. There is a really small stamp on the inside cover that I think identifies the maker.
Anyone care to take a shot at identifying it?
Trail Talk
Well-known member
That’s really cool your son was interested in this old survivor. I hope it comes back from the overhaul in good running condition, spare parts are usually non-existant and making them can get expensive.
Its likely an early wrist watch conversion from a pin-set pendant movement. When wrist watches became popular during WWI the manufacturers simply repurposed their smaller ladies pendant and chatelaine watch movements for the new fashion. Depose means patent in French so its either a French or Swiss movement. It has a slight resemblance to those made by A. Schild.
The numbers are the manufacturer’s serial number for the case only. The movement will have a different serial number, and perhaps a maker’s name, underneath the mainplate so make sure your repair guy takes photos before putting it back together. Partial photos aren’t so helpful but I don’t see precious metal hallmarks on the case. Would appreciate a picture of the dial side too!
That punched symbol is likely what you say, a maker’s mark, and the “6” a style or size code. There were hundreds of case makers back then in Switzerland alone, most now dead with little or no surviving records. Keep us updated as your rescue project goes forward.
2025 deleted member
Well-known member
How common are knockoff replicas of these types?
Trail Talk
Well-known member
There were lots of fakes/knockoff's of prestigious names made in the period (Ebay is full of them) but not of anonymous, lower-quality pieces. Instead of outright replicas, most common today are Frankenstein watches of prestigious brands (again, see Ebay) assembled from mismatched parts.
Thanks for the thoughts. I will reach out to the repair guy and ask them to take pictures of all the internal parts and pieces.
Other pieces to the puzzle. To set the time, you press in the button next to the crown instead of pulling out the crown. The face is off 90 degrees from the hands. The face has 12:00 to the right. But when I tried to set the time to 4:00, the hands did not match the face. When I adjusted the hands to read 4:00 and ignored what the numbers on the face said (assumed 12:00 straight up), the hands aligned perfectly. So, I can only assume that someone has done some work to the watch at some point in its history.
When I get it back, I will let you know what I find out.
ramblinChet
Well-known member
This is the reason I only visit Authorized Dealers and purchase brand new watches and yes, I keep the box and papers, and register the watch with the manufacturer for ownership and warranty.
Trail Talk
Well-known member
I’ll have to nerd out a bit here. What you describe confirms the movement started out as a pin-set (the button you reference) Lepine-type watch designed like pocket watches with the crown straight up at 12 o’clock. For a period factory conversion to a wrist watch, the movement was rotated in the case so the winding crown was at 3 o’clock and the dial was then repositioned so 12 was again on top. The dial has small pegs or feet which fit into holes in the movement and likely prevented this. Your conversion was probably an amateur’s or local watch maker’s attempt to copy the new fashion ca1920.
Edit: this is probably better illustrated with a photo. Here is a WWI chronograph with the Lepine-type movement of crown at 12 and pin-set just left of the crown. This pin-set feature was on its way out by this time, replaced with a sliding clutch that disengaged the winding mechanism when the crown was pulled and allowed the hands to be set, a feature that carries over into wrist watches of today. You can see that rotating the movement to the right so the crown is at 3 would also require turning the dial back to the left for 12 to again be on top.
And here is an auction catalog image of a 1930s wrist watch using a much older Lepine movement, converted by the Manufacturer from unused stocks. You can see the crown is retained at 12, between the strap lugs. Although originally sold at discounted prices because of the movement, they are very collectable today and sometimes even mimicked in modern watches.
Makes me smile to see this high-end prestige watch copying the Lepine look of those bargain watches from the 1930s ;-)
Hodinkee Image
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Kingsize24
Well-known member
You guys have some nice time keepers.
My EDC watches
And my casual wear
Haven't had a need or want for much more. The Powerwind was my grandfather's.
My EDC watches
And my casual wear
Haven't had a need or want for much more. The Powerwind was my grandfather's.
Trail Talk
Well-known member
Your comment applies to modern watches that are available new, but in the classic and antique realms one has no choice but to go “used“. The research and learning process required to avoid pitfalls can be very satisfying but its not for everyone.