A 1920s Boxed Revue Half Hunter Pocket Watch from J W Benson.

A 1920s boxed Revue half hunter pocket watch from J W Benson.

The watch has a gilt stem-winding movement, identified as being by Revue, and it is in good working order. The movement is signed with the J W Benson name and is all protected by an inner hinged cover.

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, JW 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, including Cyma and Revue. From a collector’s point of view, both the British and Swiss made J W Benson movements are desirable and comparable in quality.

The watch measures 50.8mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is gold plated and is the Star model made by the Dennison Watch Case Company, a prolific producer of cases for many watch manufacturers. The case is in good condition with just minor surface marking from use, nothing serious at all. The front cover has a small acrylic lens surrounded by black enamel filled Roman numerals.

The winding crown pushes in to open the front cover. Inside the glass lens is in nice condition.

The white enamel dial is signed J.W.Benson London. The dial has a faint hairline cracks to the sub second dial although hardly noticeable. Note the special hour hand for half hunter watches, so that the hands can be distinguished between when the front cover is closed.

The watch comes in a vintage J.W.Benson box which is showing signs of age although still nice to have.

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.