Antique Silver Half Hunter J W Benson Pocket Watch

Antique silver half hunter ‘The Bank Watch’ for J W Benson.

The watch has a stem-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement is signed ‘The Bank Watch, Best London Make’ together with the name and address of the original retailer, J W Benson. The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover.

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 watch measures 53mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is silver and there are hallmarks inside the three covers for London 1906 together with the mark for J W Benson.

The front cover has a small central lens surrounded by blue enamel filled Roman numerals. The case is in good condition, just a slight unevenness to the back of the watch.

The winding crown pushes in to open the front cover.

The acrylic lens is in good condition.

The signed single-sunk dial is in lovely condition with original pin-set blued steel hands including the special half hunter hour hand so that the time can be read when the front cover is closed.

The watch comes in a new presentation box.

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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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