A Gents Silver Borgel Cased Trench Watch, 1916.

A gents silver Borgel cased trench watch, 1916.

The watch has a hand-winding pin set movement which is working nicely. The nicely jewelled FHF movement is unsigned.

The watch measures 35mm diameter excluding the winding crown and the fixed wire lugs. The case is silver and there are hallmarks inside the case back for London (import mark), 1916, together with the importers mark for George Stockwell .

There is also a case maker's mark for François Borgel. Borgel patented the Borgel watch case in 1891. At the time, it was a real step forward in the design and manufacture of waterproof and dustproof watch cases, initially pocket watch cases and then subsequently wrist watch cases.

François Borgel was a successful inventor and business man, and his business became one of the most important watch case manufacturers of its time. Early adopters of the Borgel screw case included Longines and IWC. After François Borgel’s death in 1912, the business was carried on by his daughter Louisa.

Overall the case is in good condition, just some surface marking to the back from a previous strap, but nothing serious.

The acrylic lens is in nice condition.

The dial has a couple of faint hairline cracks and an old repair to the outer edge but overall it has survived well for a WW1 piece. Originally there would have been painted detail to the pin-set hands and the numbers but this has been removed over the years.

A new leather strap has been fitted.

The watch will be sent in a new presentation box.

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.