Art Deco Pocket Watches

[Ethan Lipsig]

There's never been a thread in these forums on art deco pocket watches.

It is hard to define styles in design, but I would define the "art deco" style to be one that emphasized elegant, decorative, stylized, sharp-edged geometric designs. A pocket watch case that doesn't have those decorative elements probably isn't art deco.

Pocket watches were were falling out of favor in the 1920s and 1930s, when art deco was in vogue, so there aren't a great many art deco pocket watches. If you have any in your collection, please post photos of them.

Here are a few examples from my collection.

YGF Lip Eclipso



Lip licensed this design to Gruen, which produced the Gruen Carre

14k Gruen Carre



Another 14k Gruen Carre



Of course, people may reasonably disagree as whether a particular design is art deco. Here are two examples.

18k S. Cats


The design is elegant but arguably doesn't have the requisite decorative geometric elements, although I see it as a collection of triangles arranged around the monogram..

14k Elgin C.H. Hulburd



Elgin C. H. Hulburds came in a variety of cases, normally with a style all of their own. However, this particular example has a dial that I think shows art deco influences in its highly stylized geometric "numerals."

 

[Ethan Lipsig]

Perhaps the best example of an art deco pocket watch in my collection is this 18k UTI.



But, apart from the geometric decoration, the case itself is a traditional design. The dial is not art deco in my opinion.



Art deco dials are uncommon. Some may disagree, but the dial on this platinum Haas Neveux seems art deco to me because of its modernist look and geometrical layout. It also is rare, or possibly unique, in having numerals that are side-out.

 

[Ethan Lipsig]

IWC appears to have been the only prominent manufacturer to market a significant number of art deco pocket watches. Here are the examples in my collection, all in 14k IWC cases except for the last watch, which is in an 18k Cress Arrow case.

Caliber 73B





Caliber 95





Unknown (to me) Calibers

 

[Ethan Lipsig]

Art deco designs on pocket watches likely are most often seen, not on the case or dial, but in the monograms owners chose, as these examples from my collection demonstrate.

Platinum Cartier


14k Elgin Grade 91


18k Elgin C.H. Hulburd Grade 446 (note the art deco bow)


14k Elgin C.H. Hulburd Grade 446


14k Elgin Lord Elgin Grade 450


Platinum Frankfeld


14k Illinois Illini Grade 528


Platinum Merimont


18k C.H. Meylan


Platinum C.H. Meylan


Platinum C.H. Meylan


14k South Bend Grade 431


Platinum Touchon


Platinum Touchon

 

[Thomas Sanguigni]

I am not into the pocket watch arena very often, but I do love the art deco look. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Jerry Treiman]

The “Art Deco” name is derived from the 1925 “Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes” in Paris, but the style had its origins perhaps a decade or two earlier as a reaction to the Art Nouveau style of the previous century.

In addition to the geometric shapes, straight lines and angles, Art Deco also celebrated some of the artistic elements of archaeological finds of the period and other cultures. This is evident in one of the Hulburd watches shown in post #4 (ca.1930), which displays Mayan influence in the bow, a Greek meandros pattern on the edge and what to my eye look like Egyptian influenced numerals on the dial.


H.W. Matalene, who cased Waltham watches for some of the better jewelers, introduced nascent Art Deco elements in his watches as early as 1911 with this ladies’ wristwatch.


In 1914 he introduced a line of watches in rectangular cases and featuring exploding (radiating) numerals on the dials. Some included linear elements in platinum and gold.


I believe these wristwatches from 1916 and 1920 (cased by Matalene) can also be considered of the not-yet-named Art Deco style.

 

[Rick Hufnagel]

This movement is nothing special, but it's a great watch. I wore this with my suit for a long time because of its nice size and I just find it beautiful.

It also has a monogram on the reverse much like some of Ethan's above, but I don't have a picture of it at the moment.

Wadsworth 25 year white gold case.
Elgin 17 jewel grade 345.

I just really like it... Every time the herd is thinned out, I just can't bring myself to part with it.