Silver Cyma Half Hunter Pocket Watch for J W Benson

Silver Cyma half hunter pocket watch for J W Benson.

The watch has a 16 jewel stem-winding movement, identified as a Cyma, which is working nicely.

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.

As with many watch manufacturers, J W 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. From a collector’s point of view, both the British and Swiss made J W Benson movements are desirable and comparable in quality.

The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover.

The watch measures 50mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is silver and there are hallmarks inside all three outer covers for Birmingham 1930, with a case maker’s mark for Aaron Dennison. The Dennison Watch Case Company supplied cases for many watch manufacturers. The case is in good condition, just a couple of little indentations where the loop has folded down and pressed into the case. The case back has the ornate initials FR.

The front cover has a small central lens surrounded by enamel filled Roman numerals. The winding crown is pressed in to open the front cover. Inside, there is an acrylic lens… there is a little marking to the edge, but you have look quite closely to see it.

The dial is signed J W Benson, London. It is in very nice condition with original blued steel hands, including the special half hunter hour hand so the time can be read when the front cover is closed.

The watch comes 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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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.

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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.