A 1930s Vertex Full Hunter Pocket Watch

A 1930s Vertex full hunter pocket watch.

The watch has a stem-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement is signed VWC for Vertex.

In 1859, Louis Tschopp and Gédéon Thommen ran the Societe d’Horlogerie in Waldenburg Switzerland and eventually Gédéon Thommen took over the sole ownership and he renamed the company Gédéon Thommen. Thommen started to build lever movements with the aim of developing a manufacturing process whereby the components were interchangeable. Upon his father's death, Alphonse Thommen took over the business and by 1890, the factory was producing 13,000 watches per year. By 1929 Thommen had registered the brand name Vertex specifically to market the watches in the UK.

Early Vertex wrist watches were very functional with most being modified pocket watches with simple wire lugs. However, by the 1920s and early 1930s, the fashion for Art Deco soon became incorporated into Vertex watches resulting in some striking Art Deco pieces. Unfortunately the economic crash of the late 1920s / early 1930s hit the watch making industry hard and in fact saw the demise of many watch making companies but Thommen began manufacturing aviation navigational instruments and time pieces, many of which were bought by the British and German armed forces.

In our particular watch, the movement is protected by an inner hinged cover which has a 1931 Christmas Eve inscription.

The watch itself measures 50mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is gold plated and was made by the Dennison Watch Case Company. The front cover has ornate initials, DB. The overall condition of the case is good with just one small “ding” to the back of the watch.

The winding crown pushes in to release the front cover which is then opened with your fingernail. Inside there is an acrylic lens which is in good condition. Original glass lenses were often replaced with acrylic lenses if they broke as the material is much more durable.

The dial is in lovely condition with blued steel hands, a subsidiary seconds dial and an outer minute track.

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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