la gerbe d'or pocket watch h. Chapus

[regis]

hi...

i have my grand father pocket watch that i wouldn't mind knowing a little more about.

la gerbe d'or
h. chapus


serial 286328
it is a steel watch.

i have no idea if he got it from his father or bought it himself.

http://www.partnersingrants.com/uploads/watch1.JPG

http://www.partnersingrants.com/uploads/watch2.JPG

http://www.partnersingrants.com/uploads/watch3.JPG

[Hartmut Richter]

Very nice! My knowledge of pocket watches is slightly limited and others will be able to provide better input. Still, to me it looks like a WWI PW (made of steel, with red 12h and extra 13-24h markings, full keyless works by the looks of it) with possibly the hands replaced at some stage (the florid style doesn't suit the functionality of a "trench" watch). Movement is of moderate to high quality (no proletarian cylindre or pin pallet movement, 15 jewels, Breguet spiral) and seems to be swiss (multi-bridge-and-cock rather than 3/4 plate).

But then, people like Ray McDonald may well take my assessment to the cleaners here....!

Hartmut Richter

[regis]

it is possible the hand was replaced at some point. When i got it it was loose and i had to have it fixed.

[Ray MacDonald]

I should say your assessment makes sense to me, Mr. Richter. :-!
There was an H Chapus who sold clocks in Paris (just east of the Louvre) and he used the " la gerbe d'or" branding on his clocks. Maybe he also sold watches.
It's possible the watch may be of French origin but it certainly looks Swiss to me. Hard to tell the difference actually. :-s
I believe the hands are original to the watch, and if they are it would date it to the Art Nouveau period just before World War I. My guess would be 1900-1910.

[regis]

yes la gerbe d'or was in paris sorry i should have mentioned that it is written inside the watch. i was able to find infos about the clock made there but nothing about pocket watch either. 1900 1910 is a little early for my grandfather. i will ask my grandma if he had it from my great grand father or if he bought it used.

[Ray MacDonald]

Well it could be in the period 1910-1920 as Hartmut Richter suggested in his post. However I believe it is definitely before 1920. After that the pocket watches started to have metal dials rather than ceramic ones like your watch.
It was quite common for a pocket watch to get passed down from generation to generation in the time before 1950. These things last a long time. My grandfather had one from 1901 which he gave me in 1953 and it was still working OK. It still works OK today.