John Beesley Key Wind Sterling Watch 18sz Skeletonised Movement

[dillon4134]

I have a 18 size Beesley watch dial has a second hand box and a compass box says pat 1859 john beesley & co. Liverpool...the dial also has a helmet in red with a plume on top...There are several hallmarks inside the case which opens to the face there is a 32 very small...inside back case is a 44198 number also something tron theres letters before the tron but cant make them out also there is in the same place 43 2...inside the 2nd case covering the movement is a 14198 with a 2 above the 4 and a 3 above the 1.the movement looks very fancy has a running deer on it. its all sterling silver some suggested it could be a miltary watch? Please if you can tell me anything about it THANKS...the engraving on the front of the case appears to be 2 military men 1 pointing to the right and up the other man has his thumb up pointing to the rt. On the back case there a building with a tall spire like maybe a fort? Its key wind. Both men are holding guns. I have pictures but dont know how to make a URL . Any 1 interested i can email pictures ..dillon_4134@yahoo.com. There are 2 places for a key 1 says key other turning without key? Can any one tell me where i can get a key for this watch THANKS


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[dillon4134]

I have a 18 size Beesley watch dial has a second hand box and a compass box says pat 1859 john beesley & co. Liverpool...the dial also has a helmet in red with a plume on top...There are several hallmarks inside the case which opens to the face there is a 32 very small...inside back case is a 44198 number also something tron theres letters before the tron but cant make them out also there is in the same place 43 2...inside the 2nd case covering the movement is a 14198 with a 2 above the 4 and a 3 above the 1.the movement looks very fancy has a running deer on it. its all sterling silver some suggested it could be a miltary watch? Please if you can tell me anything about it THANKS...the engraving on the front of the case appears to be 2 military men 1 pointing to the right and up the other man has his thumb up pointing to the rt. On the back case there a building with a tall spire like maybe a fort? Its key wind. Both men are holding guns. I have pictures but dont know how to make a URL . Any 1 interested i can email pictures ..dillon_4134@yahoo.com. There are 2 places for a key 1 says key other turning without key? Can any one tell me where i can get a key for this watch THANKS


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[David Thomas]

Dial

Movement

 

[dillon4134]

Originally posted by David Thomas:
Dial

Movement

THANKS DAVID FOR PUTTING THE PICTURES ON FOR ME !

 

[David Thomas]

Despite the name on the dial your watch is actually Swiss, probably made sometime after 1859.

The compass and the skeletonised movement mean that it is more interesting than an average watch. I would describe the design of the watch to be more hunting than military.

Regards

Dave

 

[Oliver Mundy]

Dillon also e-mailed me direct and I came to the same conclusion as David, largely because of the club-toothed escape wheel and the absence of a fusee.

One thing that puzzles me is the word tron in the case. I have tentatively suggested that it could be a misreading of trou (‘hole’ in the special sense ‘jewelled hole’; most of us have seen Swiss watches with notations like x trous en rubis). However, I am haunted by a notion that I have somewhere seen a definition of tron as a particular kind of alloy. Can anyone confirm or refute this? No such word appears in Britten's glossary of French and German horological terms.

 

[dillon4134]

It says otron LG & a small capitol L next to it..There are 2 letters before the otron i can not make out? And below that its says 43 2 with the 2 a little below the 43. The 1st 2 letters befor otron could possibly be DI or BI but not sure. Also a magnet does NOT stick to any part of the watch so must be all sterling correct?

 

[Greg Crockett]

I have a gold Swiss watch marked Beazley, London. Not as fancy as your watch, but it also has a military type engraving in the form of a navy coat of arms on the front cover.

The Swiss watch trade often used English names on their products, Tobias of Liverpool, Cooper of London and etc.

Your watch was made around the U.S. Civil war era. Maybe as late as the 1870's.

The case is more likely a low grade silver or German silver.

While the watch started out as a rip-off novelty, the specially cut movement and the funky compass make it highly collectable today.

Congratulations on a cool old watch.

Best regards,

Greg

 

[dillon4134]

You fellows may all laugh .. But i found a fellows site in the uk, I have already shipped him the watch and he feels with a good cleaning it will bring near a 1000.00 US He said his customers are world wide and love these kind of watches. Also i found it does work fine. Hes very reputable and been in business many years. He said this type watch is in much more demand overseas than here in the USA.