Gents 9ct Gold Smiths Watch for J W Benson

Gents 9ct gold Smiths watch for J W Benson.

The watch has a 16-jewel hand-winding movement from the English watch maker Smiths, as found in their De Luxe watches. The movement is working nicely.

The watch measures 31mm diameter excluding the winding crown and the lugs. The case is 9 carat gold and there are hallmarks inside the case back for Birmingham assay office, 1956 with a case maker’s mark for Aaron Dennison, the Dennison Watch Case Company was a Birmingham based case manufacturer who supplied various watch makers.

So here we have an English movement, in an English case, all produced for the high end English retailer J W Benson.

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. J W Benson also supplied watches to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales.

The case is in lovely condition, this watch has been well looked after. There is a very small code scratched into the edge of the case back, probably an old service mark. There are no personal inscriptions.

The lens is in lovely condition.

The signed dial is in its original finish with original hands, a subsidiary seconds dial and outer minute markers.

The watch comes on a ‘new old stock’ strap which has a little marking from being in storage, with a 12k rolled gold buckle.

The watch comes in its original presentation box with the retailer’s name within the lid, and then in its outer card box.

This is a super example of a Smiths watch for Benson, the condition is super, especially with the two original boxes.

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.