Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

LeCoultre 18ct minute repeating hunter pocket watch, 1933

DocumentedDocumented from an auction catalogue; attribution as stated by the auction house.

Maker / attribution: Unrecorded in source
Date: 1933
Historical period: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Pocket watch
Dimensions: Diameter 55 mm
Auction house: Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
Lot: Sale 25, lot 271
Credit line: Auction lot record: lot 271, The Watch Auction, Gardiner Houlgate (25th May 2022)
Catalogue title (original): Very rare LeCoultre 18ct minute repeating hunter pocket watch with four hammers repeating Westminster chimes on the quarters, the gilt frosted movement stamped 'Brevet 11948', with compensated balance (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 25, lot 271), this is a pocket watch, dated 1933. The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Pocket Watches collection. Recorded dimensions: Diameter 55 mm. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

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

Lot description — Gardiner Houlgate

Very rare LeCoultre 18ct minute repeating hunter pocket watch with four hammers repeating Westminster chimes on the quarters, the gilt frosted movement stamped 'Brevet 11948', with compensated balance, regulator and four hammers striking a gong, presentation inscribed cuvette dated 1933, signed enamel dial with Roman numerals, minute track and subsidiary seconds, blued steel hands, repeat slide at the three position, within a plain case, no. 31xx, 123.9gm, 55mm - ** The presentation inscription with interesting provenance relating to the famous W.D. & H.O. Wills British tobacco manufacturing company formed in Bristol, England. Inscribed 'JAMES BARWELL from Lady Wills, Peter, Mary & John, 17th March 1933' - ** within a fitted case

Historical context

Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)

The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.

The pocket watch reached technical maturity and then began to give way to the wristwatch after the First World War. Complicated watches for collectors such as Henry Graves Jr. and James Ward Packard, railroad watches, and slim Art Deco dress watches are characteristic.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Industrial Revolution

Atlas type guide

Repeating watches

Before electric light, telling the time in the dark was a real problem. Repeating watches strike the time on demand when a slide or push-piece is operated: quarter repeaters sound hours and quarters, minute repeaters hours, quarters and minutes. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare disputed the invention in London in the 1680s. Early repeaters struck on a bell inside the case; Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced the gong (a coiled steel wire) around 1780, allowing thinner watches.

Repeaters require a separate train with racks, snails and a governor to control the striking speed, and are among the most demanding complications to make and adjust. Swiss makers of the Vallée de Joux specialised in repeating ébauches in the nineteenth century.

What to look for

A slide on the case band or a push-piece through the pendant.
Gongs encircling the movement (after c. 1780) or a bell in the case (earlier); pierced case for sound.
The racks, snails and governor visible under the dial or on the movement.
Terms such as 'Minutes', 'Quarts' or 'Répétition' on the dial or cuvette.

Dating clues

Bell-striking quarter repeaters: c. 1690–1800.
Gong repeaters and dumb repeaters (striking on the case): after c. 1780.
Minute repeaters became more common after c. 1830 with Vallée de Joux ébauches.

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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Minute repeater — Complication
Compensation balance — Component

Record completeness

Maker or attributionNot in source
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsRecorded
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsNot in source

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Gardiner Houlgate — auction photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"LeCoultre 18ct minute repeating hunter pocket watch, 1933." Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham, Sale 25, lot 271. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/lecoultre-18ct-minute-repeating-hunter-pocket-1933-89f020.