Waltham Half Hunter Pocket Watch, Coal Mining Link

An antique Waltham half hunter pocket watch, with chain and miner’s lamp fob.

The watch has a stem-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement is signed and it has the serial number 7661939 which dates it back to 1896. The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover. The cover has a lovely inscription from the surface workers at Sovereign Pits in West Leigh, dated 1920. The Sovereign coal mining pits, initially sunk in the late 1870s, formed part of the Wigan Coalfield and had 180 underground workers and 68 on the surface.

The watch itself measures 52mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is 10ct gold plated with dark blue enamel Roman numerals to the front and the very elaborate initials HT to the back. The case was made by Aaron Dennison who was instrumental in the founding of Waltham Watch Company. There is a little marking to the front and some gentle unevenness to the case back but overall the condition is very acceptable. The small lens to the front is glass, it has a small nibble to the edge but not too noticeable.

The winding crown pushes in to open the front cover. Inside there is an acrylic lens which has yellowed slightly with age. The signed white enamel dial is in good condition and has blued steel hands… note the special half hunter hour hand so that the time can be read even when the front cover is closed.

The watch comes on a double albert with each chain measuring 23cm long including the T-bar and the clasp. There is also a later fob in the form of a miner’s lamp.

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.