Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
Unsigned pocket watch, circa 1986
- Maker / attribution
- Unsigned (brand / maker)
- Date
- circa 1986
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- 14k yellow gold
- Dimensions
- 60mm ; weight 103g
- Auction house
- Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
- Lot
- Lot 389-126
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: LOT 126
- Catalogue title (original)
- UNSIGNED, HUNTING CASE, QUARTER REPEATING AND CHRONOGRAPH, 14K YELLOW GOLD
Record summary
Catalogued by Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva (lot Lot 389-126), this is a pocket watch by Unsigned, dated circa 1986. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: 14k yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: 60mm ; weight 103g. The record is illustrated with 2 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
Antiquorum catalogue description
EUR 1,350 - 2,800 / CHF 1,300 - 2,700 / USD 1,550 - 3,200 / JPY 238,000 - 494,000 A fine 14k gold, hunting case, keyless, manual winding pocket watch with quarter repeating and chronograph featured with white enamel dial, black Arabic numerals, outer one fifth minute divisions with five minute Arabic numerals, and subsidiary seconds dial.
Lot specifications (Antiquorum)
Case No.: 202196; Signature: case
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz pocket watches and inexpensive novelty watches appeared, while traditional mechanical pocket watches survived mainly as collectibles and gifts.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
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.
Read next:Minute repeaterMinute repeater
Related records
Instruments · circa 1930
Unsigned marine chronometer, circa 1930
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · circa 1790s
Unsigned pocket watch, circa 1790s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · circa 1810s
Unsigned pocket watch, circa 1810s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · circa 1810
Unsigned watch, circa 1810
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · 1957–1990
Pocket watch, Sweden, 1957–1990
Gotland Defense Museum
Pocket Watches · circa 1970s
Omega Stop Watch, circa 1970s
Antiquorum auction archive, Geneva
Pocket Watches · 1970
Watch, Williamson, British, 1970
Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Pocket Watches · 1970s
Wristwatch, plastic, by Gucci; Italy, 1970s.
Victoria and Albert Museum, London