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Pocket Watches · Watch

Watch, 2014 16:37:39 UTC

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
2014 16:37:39 UTC
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Place
Eastern Front
Object type
Watch
Materials / technique
Metal
Holding institution
Europeana 1914-1918
Accession / object no.
150092
Credit line
Europeana 1914-1918
Catalogue title (original)
Orologio da tasca di un soldato austrungarico

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Europeana 1914-1918 (object number 150092), this is a watch, made in Eastern Front, dated 2014 16:37:39 UTC. The Atlas places it in the Contemporary Horology period (2010 – Present) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Metal. 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

Catalogue description from Europeana 1914-1918

Orologio ritrovato dal signor Italo Cati. Luogo del ritrovamento: in una trincea Cima 3 del Monte S. Michele (Carso). Probabilmente appartenuto ad un soldato austro-ungarico della prima guerra mondiale. Buono stato di conservazione, lancette d'oro, non si capisce la marca, probabilmente austriaco/ungherese per la posizione del trinceramento, dove è passato il ventesimo divisione ungherese.

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Contemporary Horology (2010 – Present)

Silicon components, connected watches, optical-lattice research clocks and a thriving independent scene.

Pocket watches are now produced mainly as limited editions, unique pieces and heritage reissues, often showcasing traditional crafts such as enamel and engraving.

Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Mechanical Renaissance

Atlas type guide

Pocket watches

The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.

Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.

What to look for

  • The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
  • Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
  • Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
  • Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
  • Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.

Dating clues

  • Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
  • Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
  • Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.

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:Verge escapementDetached lever escapementFuseeIdentification Centre

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