Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
Gold Half Hunter by Barraud Pocket Watch, 1897
- Maker / attribution
- Barraud (maker)
- Date
- 1897
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Dealer
- WatchMuseum.org shop
- Stock no.
- Product 6330
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, WatchMuseum.org shop (product 6330)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Gold Half Hunter by Barraud Pocket Watch (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by WatchMuseum.org shop (stock number Product 6330), this is a pocket watch by Barraud, dated 1897. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. The record is illustrated with 4 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — WatchMuseum.org shop
Presented here is a magnificent late 19th Century English lever timepiece crafted by Barraud and Lunds. Encased in 18 carat gold, this half hunter watch features a striking blue enamel chapter ring that accentuates its classic appeal. The movement, a keyless design with a going barrel, boasts a gilt three quarter plate and a finely crafted plain cock with a polished steel regulator. Equipped with a compensation balance and a blue steel spiral hairspring, this watch guarantees accurate timekeeping. The white enamel dial is elegantly signed and numbered, adorned with Roman numerals and complemented by blue steel half hunter hands. A gold cuvette bears the maker’s mark “JW” and corresponds to the number engraved on the movement. This timepiece is a true testament to the craftsmanship and attention to detail characteristic of the era. Signed Barraud & Lunds – (Cornhill) 14 Bishopsgate Street London Place of Origin: London Date of Manufacture: 1897 Diameter: 49 mm Condition: Good
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Machine production with interchangeable parts, pioneered by Waltham (1850s) and adopted by Elgin, Longines, Omega and others, made reliable lever watches widely affordable. Keyless winding became standard, railroad watch standards were introduced (1890s), and Swiss and American industries competed globally.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology
Atlas type guide
Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches
In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.
Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.
What to look for
- Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
- Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
- Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
- Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.
Dating clues
- Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
- English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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