[newbee2011]

Hi all first thankyou for allowing me to join:
I have this pocket watch and no one can identify it, auction houses, watch makers and also 100 people from the watch forum didnt have a clue
i have searched the internet for many days and cant find anything at all

Flickr: g4dgets n stuff's Photostream

Thankyou for you help

 

[AbslomRob]

Unfortunately, there probably isn't much to identify. It's a generic swiss watch of indeterminate make, probably from the late 19th or early 20th century. These watches were specifically made without any identifying features so that they could be quickly finished, cased and sold to whoever wanted to retail them. The style of the bridges can probably be traced to a specific swiss watchmaking region, but that's about it. I can't make out the writing on the dial or on the back, but chances are the dial text just points to the retailer/distributor of the watch.

The click design on this is fairly distinctive; that might help narrow down possibilities.

 

[newbee2011]

Hi thanks for the info front and back stamped "quevallier a Gaillefontaine" ?? other little stamps that are very hard to read including number 56610 and wording that is also warn but i can make out the ending***gent fI ?? the other stamps are not very deap so cant read them

thankyou

 

[Mirius]

As Rob says this is a very generic design. Since the photos are mostly out of focus and taken at an angle instead of head on, it's really quite hard to make out the detail. Sometimes it's possible to narrow it down a bit and suggest an ebauche maker but for that we'd also need a dial off shot as some of the identifying marks and designs are on that side of the mechanism.

 

[newbee2011]

As Rob says this is a very generic design. Since the photos are mostly out of focus and taken at an angle instead of head on, it's really quite hard to make out the detail. Sometimes it's possible to narrow it down a bit and suggest an ebauche maker but for that we'd also need a dial off shot as some of the identifying marks and designs are on that side of the mechanism.

Thankyou very much i will add some more pics tomorrow, i was given it by a old family member they say its from 1900's, i was wondering what it is worth.
Thanks again folks

 

[Mirius]

We don't do valuations here - see the stickies at the top of the forum to understand why. However a browse through ebays completed listings can give you a ballpark idea.

I know your camera can do nicely focused macro shots because at least one of them is perfect. My own experience is that I often need to take three or more shots to get one in focus.

Age wise it's pin set so that puts the upper age cut off at about 1920, lower end cut off is the mid 1800's but my feel is that this is likely towards the later end of this range than the earlier simply because that was when the Swiss started to industrialise and churn these out in large numbers - so I'd tend to agree with your family feel for this.

 

[newbee2011]

We don't do valuations here - see the stickies at the top of the forum to understand why. However a browse through ebays completed listings can give you a ballpark idea.

I know your camera can do nicely focused macro shots because at least one of them is perfect. My own experience is that I often need to take three or more shots to get one in focus.

Age wise it's pin set so that puts the upper age cut off at about 1920, lower end cut off is the mid 1800's but my feel is that this is likely towards the later end of this range than the earlier simply because that was when the Swiss started to industrialise and churn these out in large numbers - so I'd tend to agree with your family feel for this.

Thank you your info is amazing people, also what i should of said is not how much it was worth but is it worth putting away for the kids for 18 years cus either way they will benefit from it as it is a little nest egg for them, amount isnt important

just added some more pics.
Thanks again

 

[Mirius]

Much better :-!

Yes, it is certainly worth putting away. Not that it is expensive, but because it is a family piece.

As Rob said that is a very distinctive click, but not one I'm familiar with.

What language is on the balance cock? Although this is a typical Swiss layout I'm not convinced. I suspect that this is a French watch or perhaps from the French speaking part of Switzerland, but I can't read what it says there, it doesn't appear to be Avance Retard, which is what you'd expect.

It might solve some of the mystery about the origins of this watch - can you have a look?

That aside it appears to be a cylinder escapement, fully jewelled so a good quality for the time, but likely not very expensive. Date wise I'd go around 1910, but that is more hunch than anything.

 

[newbee2011]

Much better :-!

Yes, it is certainly worth putting away. Not that it is expensive, but because it is a family piece.

As Rob said that is a very distinctive click, but not one I'm familiar with.

What language is on the balance cock? Although this is a typical Swiss layout I'm not convinced. I suspect that this is a French watch or perhaps from the French speaking part of Switzerland, but I can't read what it says there, it doesn't appear to be Avance Retard, which is what you'd expect.

It might solve some of the mystery about the origins of this watch - can you have a look?

That aside it appears to be a cylinder escapement, fully jewelled so a good quality for the time, but likely not very expensive. Date wise I'd go around 1910, but that is more hunch than anything.

Hi thankyou, I can't make out the name by the balance thing even with an eye scope as its joined fancy writing, and the wording on th face is bearly readable and says quevallier a Gaillefontaine, searched the net for a long long time lol and quevallier a Gaillefontaine doesnt appear to meen anything.
interesting though, your info is very much appreciated as i find the history of old watches interesting as the people that built them was geniuses.

 

[Mirius]

Shocking as it might seem, not everything is yet on the internet, and in my limited experience there is very little available about the French watch industry.

Gaillefontaine is a place in Northern France and likely enough is also a surname as is Quevallier in France. Your next move might be to try and find a French vintage watch forum.

 

[newbee2011]

Shocking as it might seem, not everything is yet on the internet, and in my limited experience there is very little available about the French watch industry.

Gaillefontaine is a place in Northern France and likely enough is also a surname as is Quevallier in France. Your next move might be to try and find a French vintage watch forum.

Thanks, yes i was very shocked as for once internet didnt have info i asked.

kind regards