Gents 9ct Gold Borgel Cased Wrist Watch, 1923

Gents 9ct gold Borgel cased wrist watch, 1923.

UK POSTAGE ONLY FOR THIS ITEM

The watch has a Swiss hand-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement has been identified as by Fabrique d'Horlogerie de Fontainmelon, manufacturers of ebauche movements (blank movements which could then be finished to meet individual requirements of the watch manufacturers).

The watch measures 34.5mm diameter excluding the winding crown and the fixed wire lugs. The case is 9 carat gold and there are hallmarks inside the case back for Glasgow 1923, with a sponsor’s mark for Arthur Rendell.

In 1907, an act came into force which meant that all imported watches had to be assayed in a UK assay office and marked with British import hallmarks. For this, a sponsor's mark was required. In this particular case, Arthur Rendell was an employee, and probably in charge, of the department that handled imported watches at a company called Pringles, the UK's largest wholesalers of jewellery, silverware, clocks and watches, so it was deemed relevant to use his initials.

The inside of the case back also has the mark for François Borgel. He was a very successful inventor and business man, and his company became one of the most important watch case manufacturers of its time. He advertised his screw watch case, such as this example, as "imperméable", which means that he considered his screw case to be waterproof . Early adopters of the Borgel screw case included Longines and IWC. After François Borgel’s death in 1912, the business was carried on by his daughter Louisa. As with any vintage watch, however, we would not recommend that it is treated as still being waterproof or even water protected.

The case is in good condition, just a little unevenness to the back and light marking, nothing too serious at all.

The lens is in good condition.

The dial has a couple of hairline cracks but the dial is nice and secure. Breguet style hands in a blued steel finish, a subsidiary seconds dial and outer minute markers.

A later leather strap has been fitted. If preferred, we can fit a new leather strap.

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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