Antique Silver Borgel Cased Longines Pocket Watch

An unusual antique silver Borgel cased Longines pocket watch.

The watch has a stem-winding movement, Longines calibre 18.79, which is ticking away nicely and the time keeping is good to within around two minutes over 24 hours. The movement has the serial number 2,400,518 which dates it back to 1910.

The watch itself measures 47mm diameter excluding the winding crown and the loop. The case is silver and there are hallmarks inside the case back for London (import mark), 1912, with a case maker’s for François Borgel (his mark is inside the case back). Borgel patented the eponymous Borgel watch case in 1891, a real step forward in waterproof and dustproof watches cases, making pocket watch cases first and subsequently moving onto wrist watches as fashions changed.

François Borgel was a successful inventor and business man, and his business became one of the most important watch case manufacturers of its time. Early adopters of the Borgel screw case included Longines and the International Watch Co. (IWC). After François Borgel’s death in 1912, the business was carried on by his daughter Louisa.

The inside of the case back also has the AB mark for Alfred Baume, the UK importer for Longines.

The case has some small marks but overall is in good condition for its age. There are some elaborate initials engraved into the back of the case.

The watch glass has some scratches but they are reasonably light.

The white enamel dial has a few hairline cracks to the bottom half but they are not immediately obvious. Lovely blued steel hands (initially set by way of the pin set mechanism), a subsidiary seconds dial and an outer minute track.

PRICE INCLUDES WORLDWIDE POSTAGE

ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE (excluding Northern Ireland).

Please contact us regarding international shipping.

All of our watches are checked over before listing, and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch.

We are a VAT registered company and all purchases are covered by Consumer Regulations.

Credit / debit card purchases up to £300 can be made over the telephone on 01386 750238 or you can proceed via the 'Purchase Antique' button on each listing page. Alternatively, there is a Paypal payment link if you scroll down the page and we also accept bank transfers.

We are an on-line only business and do not have facilities for callers. Our offices are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

With regards to appraisals / valuations, we receive a huge number of information requests each day and unfortunately do not have the manpower to deal with them all individually. Our advice would be to contact a local auctioneer for a full appraisal.