Antique Silver Pocket Watch, Sir John Bennett

Antique silver pocket watch, Sir John Bennett.

The watch has a stem-winding movement which is working nicely and keeping good time to within around five minutes over 24 hours. The movement is signed Sir John Bennett, Makers to the Late Queen Victoria, 65 Cheapside, EC & 105 Regent St, W, London

John Bennett (1814 – 1897) was one of the most controversial characters in British horology and, in many aspects one of the most advanced. He greatly advocated the Swiss methods of manufacture where parts were interchangeable rather than being made for each individual watch. This put him in conflict with many of his colleagues. It was even said that the establishment of the British Horological Institute was designed to protect decent watchmakers from “new brooms” like Bennett.

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 the two case backs for London 1910, together with a maker’s mark for the Coventry watch case maker Thomas Arnott. The case is in lovely condition.

The thick glass lens is in lovely condition.

The signed dial is in super condition. Original pin-set blued steel hands, a subsidiary seconds dial and an outer minute track.

The watch comes in a beautiful Sir John Bennett 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.