Antique Silver Cyma Pocket Watch from J W Benson

Antique silver Cyma pocket watch from J W Benson.

The watch has a 15-jewel stem-winding movement by Cyma which is working nicely. The movement is signed with the name of the original 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.

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 and Revue. 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 48mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is silver and there are hallmarks inside both of the case backs for Birmingham 1908 with a case maker’s mark for Aaron Dennison of the Birmingham based Dennison Watch Case Company, a prolific manufacturer of cases for various watch makers. The case is in good condition, just a little unevenness to the case back.

The glass lens has a few small marks.

The signed dial is in lovely condition with original blued steel hands, a subsidiary seconds dial and outer minute markers.

The watch comes in its J W Benson 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.

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.