R&G Beesley 18k Pocket Watch Mystery

[Todd]

Tried doing some research on this R&G Beesley pocket watch, but couldn't seem to find out much info about it. Does anyone have any ideas on this watch?
Here are some pictures that I took that will hopefully help.

 

[gmorse]

Hi Todd, and welcome to the forum,

Does anyone have any ideas on this watch?

The first thing that strikes me is that the case and movement of this watch were made in Switzerland, not Liverpool. Richard and George Beasley or Beesley were well-known watchmakers recorded as working in Liverpool between 1825 and 1848. The case has no visible hallmarks of any kind, let alone English ones; the 18K mark is not a guarantee of purity. The decorated style of the case is often seen on Liverpool watches of the period, but English cases wouldn't have a hinged inner cover like this, made of plated base metal, or with the details engraved on it like this.

The reasonable quality movement is in typical Swiss 'Lepine' style and the escapement is a tangential lever.

The conclusion is that you have a Swiss product which was intended to deceive buyers, mostly outside the UK, that this was made by one of the better-known Liverpool companies, many of whom had a strong export trade to the US.

Regards,

Graham

 

[Dr. Jon]

The signature is either fraudulent or a budget item. It's a shame since it is a decent watch.

The dial is probably gold as are the most of the case parts. The case back has s mall chevron mark which is the Neuchatel gold hallmark so it is 18K gold although the inner cover is probably brass.

The movement is a generic Geneva bar type

 

[mosesgodfrey]

I believe Dr. Jon hit the nail on the head, but closer, clear pics of the hallmarks/case stamps might help.