Important Watches, Collector's Wristw...

The Ritz-carlton Hotel, Hong-kong, Jun 08, 2002

LOT 254

Army & Navy Cooperative Society Limi-ted, 105 Victoria St., London, No. 6853, hall-marked 1894-95.Very fine and rare 18K gold half-hunting keyless Grande et Petite Sonnerie clockwatch with minute-repeating.

HKD 140,000 - 170,000

EUR 20,000 - 25,000 / USD 18,000 - 22,000

Sold: HKD 207,000

C. Four-body, "bassine", front with aperture encircled with blue champlevé enamel hour chapter and inner minute ring, gold hinged cuvette, swivel pendant. D. White enamel, made by Willis, radial Roman numerals, outer minute ring, subsidiary sunk seconds. Blued steel "double spade" hands. M. 42 mm. (18'''1/2), frosted gilt three-quarter plate, 27 jewels, lateral calibrated lever escapement with the lift on the pallets, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold temperature screws and gold meantime nuts, double overcoiled free-sprung Breguet balance spring, tandem winding, striking and repeating on two gongs.Signed on the movement, numbered on the dial, case and movement, dial signed by Willis.Diam. 54 mm.


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Grading System
Grade: AAA

Excellent
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 2 - 01

Notes

The Army & Navy Cooperative Society, LTD, was founded in London in 1871. Its first director was Frederick Bradford McCrea. This was one of the first and most successful cooperative retailing ventures. It adhered to the philosophy of offering "the Very Best English Goods" (the title of their mail order catalogs) at reasonable prices to members. At the height of their exercize, they had branches throughout the British Empire, including India.The Society's administrative, financial and production records still exist today and are extremely useful research tools. The records of the Kew Observatory list them as makers of high-quality complicated watches which did quite well at the trials at the turn of the century. This watch, with its double overcoiled balance spring, was most likely destined for one of them.