Antique Louis Roskopf Pocket Watch and Chain

Antique Louis Roskopf pocket watch and chain.

The watch has a stem-winding movement, signed Louis Roskopf SA, which is working nicely.

Louis Roskopf was the step son of George Roskopf, famous in the watch world for producing the montre proletaire, or labourer's watch, an affordable timepiece for the average working man. When George died in 1889, the business passed down through the generations until it reached Louis-Frederic who was not a watch maker, but a dealer of tropical birds.

Around 1900, Louis realised that virtually any watch making business producing a 'Roskopf watch' in La Chaux de Fonds was making money. Action was needed so he returned to La Chaux de Fonds with a watchmaker named Léon-Henri Reinbold and together they founded the Louis Roskopf & Cie watch company.

This movement on this particular watch is protected by a beautifully detailed inner cover which has details of the movement and an image of William Tell, the Swiss folk hero.

The watch measures 54mm diameter excluding the stem, signed crown and loop. The case is nickel and it is in good condition. The bezel has the wording, 'Montre Louis Roskopf'. The case back has the wording Montre Chemin de Fer which translates as railway chronometer (this is purely a marketing claim by Roskopf as the movement is not chronometer grade). It also has an image of a locomotive and the name Louis Roskopf SA.

The lens is in good condition as is the signed dial with original ornate hands and red 24 hour numbers to the perimeter.

The watch comes with a single chain, 25cm long including the clasps.

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.