A Lady’s 9 Carat Gold Wrist Watch from J W Benson

A lady’s 9 carat gold wrist watch from J W Benson.

The watch has a Swiss 15-jewel hand-winding movement which is working well. The movement is signed with the J W Benson name.

The watch itself measures 25mm diameter excluding the winding crown and the lugs. The case is 9 carat gold and there are hallmarks inside the case back for Birmingham 1945 with a maker’s mark for the English watch case making company Dennison. The case back has the engraving “J to C, 11-11-22 – 47”.

The lens is in good condition.

The dial is signed J W Benson, London… they would have been the original retailers of the watch. The dial is in its original finish which has a subtle textured finish, Breguet style hands and an outer minute track.

J W Benson originated in 1847, founded by James William Benson and Samuel Suckley Benson. They were regarded as one of Victorian London’s most prestigious retail jewellers and they also manufactured their own watch movements. The company flourished and proudly boasted an elite client base made up of both British and European royalty and a selection of well heeled industrialists and business figures including the King of Siam, the King of Portugal, the King of Denmark, the Emperor of Japan, the Tsar of Russia and the King of Greece. JW Benson also supplied watches to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales.

As with many watch manufacturers, J W Benson embraced the newly introduced wristwatch during the first World War. Up until this point, the company was still manufacturing its own movements in the UK but after its factory at Belle Sauvage Yard was hit during a bombing raid in 1914, it purchased mechanisms from a number of quality movement producers in Switzerland. From a collector’s point of view, both the British and Swiss made JW Benson movements are desirable and comparable in quality.

The watch strap is gold plated. There is adjustment on the clasp which means it fits a wrist of between 17cm and 18cm.

The watch will be sent in a new presentation box.

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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.

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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.