Hello, I recently came across an interesting heavy 19th Century Swiss Day Date Calendar Pocket Watch with Alarm (Réveil et Quantième). I'm wondering if it is worth submitting to the Patek archives to see if it exists in their records. Any other comments, suggestions, or corrections to my description would be appreciated. It is stem wound with the alarm wound and set by key through the cuvette. It runs well and the alarm strikes with a sweetly hammered gong sound. The dial is nicely proportioned and pleasing to the eye. It does have some minor chips and hairlines, and the second hand looks a bit short and may have orginally been in Louis XIV style like hour and minute hands. The watch appears to have a case maker's mark ("SP" with a crown symbol inside a tablet) and metal content marking (K over 18 inside an adjacent tablet) -- both markings inside the back of case along with the case number 4227 matching the one on the cuvette. The typical Swiss woman in profile hallmark for 18K gold is not present so I am not sure what the actual metal content is. The back of cuvette also has the number 4227 and a curious small chevron-shaped stamping. The rim of the inside of the case holding the movement also has an even smaller chevron stamp and possibly a hallmark stamp that I can't make out. The case is pink gold in color with nice floral engraving that makes me think it was sold as a souvenir to remind the traveler of Switzerland. The cuvette is signed "Patek & Cie Genève," "Remontoir" (in reference to stem winding I think), "Nikel" (the nickle plating of the movement may have been considered higher quality at the time?), "Chronometre" (which I think here is only a fancy name for watch, and not for a chronometer-type movement), and the no. 4227, which were it an early Patek would be both the case and movement number. In my experience 19th Century pocket alarms rarely have the added complication of day and date, and the movement appears relatively high quality compared to other keyless-winding pocket alarms I've seen in the 19th century. This is likely a fake Patek but as such it is interesting. I read that In the mid-19th century "Patek & Cie" was used on early Patek Philippe pocket watches in signatures on cuvettes that would be accompanied by a serial number. This one of 4227, would date it to roughly to the early 1850s according to one book, were it a real Patek. Adrien Philippe did invent modern stem-winding in 1845 and joined Patek & Cie in 1851. I guess it's possible then that this watch could be early 1850s and have stem winding. The crown looks too large and of a later style compared to the early stemwind Patek's I've seen in pictures online. I suspect this is a watch from later in the century (ca 1880s-90s) made for the tourist as a fine souvenir and reminder of the natural splendor of Switzerland. And maybe the Patek name was used to further remind the tourist of fine Swiss watchmaking. What do you think?
