Antique Silver Calendar Pocket Watch Looking for any Information

[gshep]

Hello

Can someone please help identify this pocket watch.

What I already know.

the outer case is marked with a FP within a circle (Fritz Petitpierre 58 Holborn Viaduct London)

First registered Chester Assay office 18 June 1878 CHAUX-DE-FONDS and business partner of Castelbergis. Both Men had a partnership in the same premises for a period and one was a watch case maker, both imported and sold watches.

The case is .800 silver

Serial number on case 50893 and movement the same.

Inner case is marked 15 rubies Dubois and Cie Geneve.

The movement is unmarked apart from serial number.

Both movement case and dial are all in very tidy condition.

But movement needs repairs, I suspect a broken mainspring (hopefully)

All the set pins around the outside are working correctly except for the bottom one (what does the bottom one do?)

I have owned a few pocket watches and quiet a number of wrist watches but none that look as flash as this.

Any information would be much appreciated as I need to decide whether the repairs are worth the outlay on this watch. ( I hope so).

Regards Gary
Please find photos attached

 

[MartyR]

the outer case is marked with a FP within a circle (Fritz Petitpierre 58 Holborn Viaduct London)

First reglishistered Chester Assay office 18 June 1878 CHAUX-DE-FONDS and business partner of Castelbergis. Both Men had a partnership in the same premises for a period and one was a watch case maker, both imported and sold watches.

Gary, this is a Swiss watch case, not an English one, so those are not English hallmarks. The makr cannot have been Fritz Petitpierre.

It may be that someone here has come across the FP monogram and can identify the casemaker, but those marks are notoriuously difficult to identify.

The watch itself is obviously a calendar watch, and I can't quite make out whether the subsidiary seconds dial shows the moon phase or whether the moon is just painted. The movement is nicely damascened and it seems of generally decent quality.

 

[gmorse]

Hi Gary,

If you mean the pin at 6, that should adjust the moon phase dial, but it looks as though it's been repainted. Where did you look up the "FP" mark? It isn't an English hallmark, not listed in Priestley under Chester, although there are entries for Petitpierre under Birmingham and London offices.

As it's only 0.800, it wouldn't be regarded as silver if sold in the UK.

Regards,

Graham

 

[gshep]

Thank you for your quick replies.

I typed in FP surrounded by an oval and looked at numerous hallmark pages on google and the name Fritz Petitpierre came up. It also stated that he previously traded in Switzerland.

Kind regards Gary

 

[gshep]

Hello Graham Here is the information below and yes it does reference to Birmingham

FP in an oval shield is the mark of Fritz Petitpierre, an associate of Antoine Castelberg in Castelberg, Petitpierre, and Co. of Chaux-de-Fonds Switzerland and 58 Holborn Viaduct, London,
Petitpierre's mark was first registered at Chester on 18 June 1878 with the address 58 Holborn Viaduct. This was shortly after Castelberg had left the partnership in May. Petitpierre's mark was later registered in London on 22 November 1878 with the address 33 Hatton Garden, and in Birmingham on 11 November 1882 with the address 66 Holborn Viaduct. Kind Regards Gary

 

[gmorse]

Hi Gary,

Ah, I know where this came from, and David Boettcher's site is an excellent resource. Looking again in Priestley, the marks are indeed registered as shown, but it's important to stress that the marks in your watch aren't English hallmarks; the "sponsor's" and "maker's" marks signify different things.

Regards,

Graham

 

[gshep]

Hello Graham

Thank you for your reply, so the Sponsor's mark, is the mark of the person who would be responsible if the item was found to be fraudulently made.

The maker of my watch is Dubois & Cie (company). The sponsor of my watch is Fritz Petitpierre trading as Petitpierre & Co, watch makers

The picture on the watch is hand painted and is underneath a small glass panel, from the research I have done over the last few days, I have found 3 calendar pocket watches from the same period with similar paintings each one showing the moon at different positions at 3, 12 and 7, does this mean that the panel rotates, when watch is running?

I do not want an appraisal of this watch as that is not what this forum is about. I just would like to know if it is worth the cost of repair, to get it running again, as it would not be cheap.

Kind regards Gary

 

[gmorse]

Hi Gary,

Sorry for late reply. That moon phase disc does normally rotate in these watches, and usually has two moon images, just like the ones in longcase clock break-arch dials.

Repairing worthwhile? Depends in part on what you paid for it, (entirely your private business!), and whether you intend to keep it or move it on, but it would be useful to get some quotes for the work before deciding. It could be that there's nothing seriously amiss.

Regards,

Graham

 

[gshep]

Hello Graham

Thank you for getting back to me.

I normally buy clocks that are not working, I rarely buy watches that aren't, as I find parts hard to source for old watches. But with this one I could not resist, I paid the Australian equivalent of $140 US Dollars. Which I believe is reasonable for it's cosmetic condition.

It is one of the nicer ones I have seen. If I can source someone in Sydney to do repairs for under $600 AUS Dollars, I still feel it was a good buy. I will be keeping it either way.

Regards Gary