Antique Niello Hunter Pocket Watch, Aeby & Landry

Antique niello full hunter pocket watch by Aeby & Landry of Madretsch, Switzerland.

Aeby & Landry was founded by John Aeby and Constant Felicien Landry in Madretsch in 1873. They built up a very good reputation and were very modern and innovative, producing pocket watches, chronographs, and complicated watches that were very advanced for the time.

By 1882 when John Aeby's sons were running the factory, there were some 300 employees. The younger son, Léo Aeby, spent several years in the US, studying the American's watch making processes. He brought fresh ideas back to Switzerland and despite colleagues being initially sceptical, the quality of the watches he subsequently produced proved that the American way of thinking was indeed feasible and successful.

From 1884, the company dabbled with pocket watches with digital displays but it seems they were a little ahead of their time as it was some years before digital watches became popular.

Theis particular watch has a stem-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement is signed with a rooster trade mark logo. The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover upon which are various details about the movement.

The watch itself measures 51mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The niello case is exquisitely detailed on both the front and the back. Niello is a black compound of sulphur with silver, lead, or copper, used for filling in engraved designs in various metals. There are some surface marks but overall the condition is good. The plated finish has worn off the winding crown.

The winding crown presses in to release the front cover. When you look inside, it is apparent that there has been a repair to the front hinge at some point in the past.

The acrylic lens is in good condition.

The white enamel dial has blued steel hands, initially lever set, a subsidiary seconds dial and an outer minute track with hand painted numbers. There are a couple of very faint hairline cracks.

The watch will be sent in a new presentation box.

Free worldwide delivery

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.