Posted 13 years ago
tdvintagec…
(17 items)
I don't know much about old watches. This was acquired at an estate sale because I thought it was beautiful and unique. I would appreciate any input or information from you watch experts out there!
19th Century Bovet Fleurier Silver Pocket Watch with Fob | ||
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This looks to be a very interesting watch!
You might like to take some photos of the silver marks inside the case cover and put them on your Show and Tell. I think they will be pseudo English silver hallmarks or later Swiss silver marks. At the moment I cannot make them out well in the photo on the left.
They will tell you the year of manufacture of your watch case and a general time for manufacture of the watch movement.
Bovet Fleurier is a company founded in London in 1822 May 1. Today they are still manufacturing high end watches. Refer to Wikipedia "Bovet Fleurier" for details.
You can see some of the really snazzy modern watches like the "Amadeo" on youtube.
Fleurier was a municipality in the district of Val-de-Travers in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
Bovet refers to the firm's founder Edouard Bovet (1797–1849). Bovet fled Switzerland in 1814 for political reasons and headed for England. He he done some of his training with Ilbury and Magniac in London and in 1818 was sent to China by Magniac. He founded the company for the purpose of manufacturing watches exclusively for the Chinese market. It is guessed by some watch historians that the company was established in London due to the ease of shipping the watches to China on frequent English ships. It is said that to this day Bovet continues to have a privileged relationship with China.
Note that your case also has two Chinese characters that are in the centre of the case lid surrounded by the Chinese silver marks. They are characters "BO WEI". This is the Chinese shortened form of "BOVET" and is seen on the sticker shown on the Wikipedia page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bovet_Fleurier. It suggests that this watch was made after 1830 when the company moved to Macau.
Note too that there were many counterfeit Bovet watches made in China in the mid-1800's.
I notice as well a nice fob on this watch a Chinese jade.
"Bovet Fleurier" watches are known too for their movements and it would be interesting to add a picture of it as well.
I think you could have made a good purchase. Given the strength of the Chinese economy at the moment it would be quite a desirable item. I hope you got it at a good price and that it is the "real thing".
Thanks so much vetraio50. That is great information and I appreciate your time in responding. I have added a few more pictures but it still is hard to see the Chinese markings. There are a few issues with the watch; 1.) The glass cover is missing 2.) It is not currently running.
Thanks again for the information. If you can tell of anything else from the two pictures added that would be great.
The bear is the symbol on Swiss silver .925 between the years 1882 - 1934.
This gives you an indication of the age. The dust cover over the movement also bears the stamp of "BO WEI". I still find it difficult to make out the other marks. One could be the Town mark, another the Maker's Mark. Hope this helps a bit more.
I am currently using one of such silver mark pocket watches. The same is in perfect working condition, without any dent. However, I am not sure whether its key is original.