SCARSE ca 1910 POCKET WATCH 15 JEWELS SILVER NIELLO HUNTER CASE ART NOUVEAU RUNS

Old treasures like Pocket Watches are disappearing quickly and soon won't be available to buy online. Rare watches are being bought by Collectors and they don't sell them.

Ca 1910 Swiss Pocket Watch Hunter 15 jewels Movement WAS CLEANED AND OILED is running GREAT and keeping GREAT time, 12 HOUR ORNATE DIAL with black roman numerals for the hours,

Dial is in AN EXCELLENT WITH A COUPLE OF MINOR DINGS (SEE PHOTOS) the Dial is marked LUTIN,

THE FACE COVER HAS AN INSCRIPTION IT APPEARS TO BE HUNGARIAN NOT QUITE SURE WHAT IT TRANSALATES TO
THE SILVER CASE DUST COVER IS ENGRAVED WITH FACTORY ENGRAVING:
ANCRE DE PRECISION 15 RUBIES

INSIDE OF THE DUST COVER THE NUMBER 6 ON TOP AND 2672 BOTTOM.

THE SILVER CASE DIAMETER IS APPROXIMATELY 51.85 MM THE DIAMETER OF THE MOVEMENT APROXIMATLELY 42.30 MM BY THE PILAR PLATE AND A LITTLE OVER 43MM ON THE TOP PLATE (DIAL PLATE )THIS IS EQUIVALENT TO U.S. SIZE 16s, THE NITIAL SHIELD IS EMPTY

THE CASE HAS SCRATCHES AND THE BACK COVER SHOWS DAMAGED TO THE NIELLO FROM AGE AND USE OVERALL THE CASE IS IN A GREAT CONDITION FOR BEING OVER A CENTURY OLD NOT MANY OF THIS CASES HAVE SURVIVE ( PLEASE SEE AL PHOTOS, ASK QUESTIONS)

It is good as a timekeeper and "SHOW" item of what the Gents would carry in the 1900’S ART NOUVEAU ERA

These vintage watches are getting tough to find, especially in this nice condition, a very nice watch for a very SPECIAL person!!! This watch will last for years to come!

     Watch is sold as is and we do not offer any guarantees. This is your chance to add a nice collectible watch and a piece of American History to your collection. U.S. Buyer pays calculated shipping and handling. Shipping by USPS, Insurance is included in our shipping and handling, international shipping ONLY USING ebay GLOBAL SHIPPING. Good Luck and Thanks!!!
I’ll let the pictures tell the rest of the story. As additional visual descriptions, they take precedence over any and all of the written descriptions. They are very clear and should leave no doubt as to the condition of this watch. In most cases you are the expert also, so please judge these pictures for yourself. If I have erred in the description at all, it was purely unintentional, Vintage watches are completely mechanical and their time keeping accuracy can be affected by many things including, position changes, temperature, internal cleanliness, lubrication, magnetism, and maintenance, As a general rule most are satisfied if the watch is accurate within a few minutes per day, we do not warranty or guarantee their time keeping accuracy

==== PLEASE SEE ALL PICTURES We are NOT watch experts by any means, so please ask questions, or kindly let us know if we've left anything out of importance. THANK YOU! ====

THE NIELLO WATCH CASE
ARTISTRY IN TIME
BY JAMES H. WOLF

t Pocket watches are collected and admired for many reasons. Mechanical ingenuity, accuracy of time-keeping and superior engineering of the movements are aspects which lead to the value we place on antique watches. There is also the artistic element which is exhibited on beautifully engraved watchcases. Multi-color gold cases have been eagerly collected for many years, and they represent the pinnacle of American case production. Along with fancy engraved gold cases and multi-colors, pocket watch cases were also decorated with various forms of enamel. Enameled watch cases were not produced by American factories except for some scarcer examples which were generally from the earlier years (pre-1900.) Larger gent's watch cases were rarely embellished with enamel, and the ladies enamel cases were typically specialty items which were produced for the European market.
Inspired by the great Art Nouveau and Art Deco movements, a new type of ornamented watch case appeared in the early 1900s. The niello watch case became a canvas for outstanding art works that will likely never be duplicated. The term niello comes from the Latin word nigellum . It was a technique used by the ancient Greeks, Romans, Egyptians and Persians. Niello is a black or blackish-blue composition of lead, silver, copper, sulfur and ammonium chloride. The mixture is fused onto an engraved or cut-out metal base by firing the mix in a process similar to champleve' enameling. Silver was the most often used metal for niello objects since the soft white silver color contrasted beautifully with the darker niello. Rose-gold inlay work was also seen in combination with niello and tri-color effects were achieved by the use of rose-gold, niello and silver. When the niello was heated and fired onto a silver watch case, it actually fused with the silver very strongly, almost as if it were soldered in place. The niello would be filled, finished and polished, leaving the surface of the watch case smooth and flat. One can readily assume that the process of engraving the areas which were to be filled with niello, the firing stages, and the finishing stages were very time consuming and therefore costly. Aside from the production end, the niello cases also had to be designed by artists who would pre-determine the subject matter and then the cases were finished by engravers who produced the fine details.

The value levels for niello enamel cased watches are based on both the design or subject matter and on the condition of the watch. In general, scenes and portraits will bring higher prices than cases with simple patterns, and hunter cases will be valued higher than open face cases. Like any enameled object, scratches, chips, and flakes will diminish value, while examples in mint condition will command a strong premium. Pocket watches were often carried on a daily basis and put in a pocket along with coins and other small objects, leading to damage and wear. A niello, in pristine condition, is a rarity and this condition is generally indicative of an "old stock" piece or one that was never carried.
The wonderful period of art design which lead to the development of the niello period quickly passed. By 1929, the world economy was effected by the Wall Street crash, and the pocket watch market was declining quickly. Much of the decline was due to the increasing popularity of the bracelet watch or wrist watch. Hunter case watches were the first to disappear and open face cases were not far behind. All of this leads to the fact that niellos, a representative form of an outstanding period in design, were produced in very limited numbers. We will never again see such a magnificent "niche" in the art of watch case design and decoration.

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