Dubois Ladies Repeater

[zacandy]

I thought I might share this small ladies repeater.

This much I know…….

• Cylinder escapement
• Quarter repeater on gongs
• Eight holes garnished with rubies as it says
• Breguet hands
• Hand engraved on the back so no ugly finger marks on the foliate gold case.

Please excuse the fingers and tums on the video

So far so obvious but I have the following questions please.

1. Dating the watch

1 am guessing but 1790 until 1840. Difficult I am sure but can anyone be more precise please?

2. Makers marks

Is that mark at the last picture a maker’s mark?

I recently enjoyed immensely reading Catherine Cardinals - “The Watch"

At page 28 she explains that

“Let us also note that watchmakers were obliged to write the names on the work and to stamp their work, which had to be engraved on a brass table in the Registry of the Mint.” - from the context she means I think those part of the Paris Guild but presumably Geneva too?

Does anyone know if there is an online register of these marks either the Paris or Geneva guilds? After the French Revolution it is my limited understanding that the French state was pretty good at keeping records of most things.

Does this mean that if a watch does not have a name on the dial or movement and the looks and style as early 19th-century that it is almost certainly Swiss? As of course anything English or French would very likely be signed?

3. Market for Ladies pocket watches

Does anyone have any comments or thoughts as to why the market for ladies pocket watches is so weak? After you have collected two or three pocket watches of course it is extremely unlikely you will wear them so why mens only?

In the world of wristwatches it is more practical to wear them so I can see why ladies wristwatches are less popular.

Richard Watkins formerly of this parish I think (?) is clearly very knowledgeable on the company.

“ Although the watchmaking company Philipe DuBois & Fils is neither famous nor well known, it deserves recognition for three reasons. First, the company manufactured and sold watches continuously for nearly a quarter of a millennium, probably longer than any other Swiss watchmaker, starting in the 1750s and finally closing its doors at the beginning of the 21st century. Second, it was owned and run by the family throughout its existence, and the heads of the company were all descendants of the founder Philipe DuBois (1738-1808). And third, the company always operated from the same, small building, erected in 1684 on the Grande rue in Le Locle, Switzerland, the Maison DuBois. The Documents The Maison DuBois houses a large number of documents covering the whole period of the company’s existence. Of special interest is that this collection includes hand-written account books and inventories dating back to 1720. “

http://www.watkinsr.id.au/DuBois.pdf

I will go to badger him.

Thank you in advance for any assistance.

Andrew

 

[Ethan Lipsig]

Lovely watch. I have no answers to any of your questions, including as to why ladies-size pocket watches are not widely collected. 53 of my approximately 400 cased and running pocket watches are ladies size. Ladies' watches can have movements of comparable quality to men-size watches (all mine do) and they often have far more decorative cases then men's watches. Ladies' watches are less expensive to collect because they contain less gold and platinum and are not widely collected. They take less room to store. Complicated ladies' watches, such as you watch, are especially collectible because of the great skill needed to miniaturize, e.g., the repeater mechanism.

How large is your watch? I have two keyless ladies' repeaters. One is a Haefli 36mm minute-repeater. The other is a Louis Audemars/Charpentier PL 34mm quarter-repeater.

 

[Dr. Jon]

The movement layout suggest 1830 to 1850, which is consistent with the engraving style on the cuvette.

The mark on the cover is the Neuchatel hallmark for 18K gold. Tardy's book of hallmarks date this mark to after 1853 which i do not believe. Part of the confusion regarding this mark is that Neuchatel did not become part of Switzerland until about 1856 but 1856 is not out of the question as a data.

Stem wind ladies repeaters have a strong market because some European dealers conver them to wrist watches but key wind wrist watches are not what they want.

Most "lady's" watches have low grade movement and are primarily jewelry.

I have long sought and acquired lady's watches with very high grade movements. They are rare and in my view very under appreciated. The movement here is quite good. The other reason I like them is that often belonged to remarkable ladies who left records describing who they were and things they did.

I like having them but when I wear a pocket watch it is much larger than ladies size. Sometiems my wife wears one of my small ones but wearing jewelry is unusual for most of what we do and most people we know, and dangerous in some instances.

fine Lady watches are to be enjoyed and looked at but do not get worn much, I don't wear most of my other pocket watches much these days.

As afar as I know the are no convenient register of old Swiss makers except for the Pritchard book. eh official records are not readily available.