La Future Gun Metal Pocket Watch by Achille Hirsch

La Future gun metal pocket watch by Achille Hirsch.

The watch has a stem-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement is signed with the name La Future. This brand name was registered in 1898 by Achille Hirsch of La-Chaux-de-Fonds, he had several watch making companies including Compagnie des Montres Invar, Climax Watch Company and Cervine SA.

This particular watch measures 50mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is gun metal and overall it is in good condition, just a couple of small "dings" to the side but not too serious at all.

The inside of the case back also has the mark for François Borgel. He was a very successful inventor and business man, and his company became one of the most important watch case manufacturers of its time. He advertised his screw watch case, such as this example, as "imperméable", which means that he considered his screw case to be waterproof . 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. As with any vintage watch, however, we would not recommend that it is treated as still being waterproof or even water protected.

The inside of the case back also has the Swiss brevet (patent) number 4001 which relates to an 1891 patent for the "screw case".

The watch glass has one small chip to the edge but not too noticeable to the naked eye.

The signed dial is in very nice condition with ornate hands, a subsidiary seconds dial and outer minute markers picked out in gold paint with red numerals to the perimeter.

The watch will be sent in a new presentation box.

ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE (because of GPSR legislation, we no longer post items less than 100 years old to Europe, including 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.

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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.