Well, I sure did and it has always been on my wish list to add a Borgel cased IWC movement to my collection. Recently, I was able to secure this "IWC in Disguise" Cal. 52 in a Borgel Case, and needed to figure out how to open the case. Then I used Adrian's post - and can confirm, it works (opens) exactly as he wrote.
The Movement: A Charles Nicholet (a partner of the UK based Staufer & Co. firm) IWC manufactured Lép. calibre 52 "Peerles" dating from 1914.
On opening the watch, I immediately saw the François Borgel case stamp - as shown in Borgel's registration of his trademark:
His initial of FB above an image of the Geneve Key.
The case which is a genuine Borgel, bearing the CN stamp of Charles Nicholet dates from either 1914 or 1915. This can be seen by the letter "t" stamped in the case, under the London Assay Office hallmark, which dates it to 1914/1915 .
This information courtesy of David Boettcher superb research and excelent site as found here: www.vintagewatchstraps.com
Year Date Letters
The date letters used by the London Assay Office to indicate the hallmarking year (confusingly not the same as the calendar year) ran in sequences of 20, starting at the letter "a" and running up to "u", omitting the letter "j". Other offices used the full cycle from "a" to "z".
So thanks to Adrian's post, I was able to open the watch without destroying it, and share it here with yourselves.
Now, the big question is what lies behind/below the Balance Cock. Will I find the Schaffhausen Bock?
Of course, I'll be restoring the movement to it's former glory.
One major piece of sleuth work remains - why does the case have a Broad Arrow stamped on the back (MF rightly points out, that there is no accompanying military serial numbers). On David Boettcher site, we read that these pocket watches were known as "Borgel Officer's watch or Borgel Trench watch, so called because they came into popular use during the First World War (WW1)"
The date of the case and the movement, put it in the UK in time to go to war!
I'm happy with this addition to my pocket watch collection - and welcome inputs / feedback from you experts out there.
527 Discussions and CommentsMember since Sept. 16, 2008Duesseldorf,
Germany
I know how tensed you were during the auction, and how the tension immediately vanished as soon as the auction was over and you had secured this beautiful piece.
I know that shooting such rare pieces and then uncovering its history gives you so much excitement and relaxation. I am so happy for you Buddy.
2,628 Discussions and CommentsMember since Sept. 20, 2007
Giovanni, I am sure that the "people with knowledge" will soon correct us here - for in fact, I have not done any research myself into exactly how many IWC's were cased into Borgel cases by Staufer & Co. and as such, am not sure that they can/are classified as "rare pieces".
I just know, I waited a long time to find the piece I felt comfortable with that case and movement matched, and that the movement is complete and original ex Schaffhuasen.
5,019 Discussions and CommentsMember since May 29, 2003Sarasota, FL,
United States
I certainly can imagine your lying in wait for this piece of history and snapping it up at the proper moment. It's amazing how pocket watches still lie around for a hundred years before being found by someone like you or MF who actually know what it really is.
399 Discussions and CommentsMember since Jan. 18, 2011
Congratulations ! You are really lucky to have acquired this rare vintage piece. Thanks for sharing such detailed information with us, its really educating, not to forget the history that goes with it.
564 Discussions and CommentsMember since Feb. 3, 2009Moscow,
Russian Federation
Congrats Mark! I also like watches in Borgel case. The history is amazing! By the way I was lucky enough to get the watch from the photo in Adrian post))
MfG, Roman KM/WWW/Mk.11/666/3508/9239/322712/811/3531/5442/5448/PD etc.
Congratulations Mark, for another lovely piece of IWC history.
Regards,
Jeronimo
Omar Khayyám (Persia XI-XII Century) offered that Time should not only be measured in length but also in width due to the intrinsic difference between a minute or other depending on what is happening to the beholder... I wonder how a watch would look like...
Well, I sure did and it has always been on my wish list to add a Borgel cased IWC movement to my collection. Recently, I was able to secure this "IWC in Disguise" Cal. 52 in a Borgel Case, and needed to figure out how to open the case. Then I used Adrian's post - and can confirm, it works (opens) exactly as he wrote.
The Movement: A Charles Nicholet (a partner of the UK based Staufer & Co. firm) IWC manufactured Lép. calibre 52 "Peerles" dating from 1914.
On opening the watch, I immediately saw the François Borgel case stamp - as shown in Borgel's registration of his trademark:
His initial of FB above an image of the Geneve Key.
The case which is a genuine Borgel, bearing the CN stamp of Charles Nicholet dates from either 1914 or 1915. This can be seen by the letter "t" stamped in the case, under the London Assay Office hallmark, which dates it to 1914/1915 .
This information courtesy of David Boettcher superb research and excelent site as found here: www.vintagewatchstraps.com
Year Date Letters
The date letters used by the London Assay Office to indicate the hallmarking year (confusingly not the same as the calendar year) ran in sequences of 20, starting at the letter "a" and running up to "u", omitting the letter "j". Other offices used the full cycle from "a" to "z".
So thanks to Adrian's post, I was able to open the watch without destroying it, and share it here with yourselves.
Now, the big question is what lies behind/below the Balance Cock. Will I find the Schaffhausen Bock?
Of course, I'll be restoring the movement to it's former glory.
One major piece of sleuth work remains - why does the case have a Broad Arrow stamped on the back (MF rightly points out, that there is no accompanying military serial numbers). On David Boettcher site, we read that these pocket watches were known as "Borgel Officer's watch or Borgel Trench watch, so called because they came into popular use during the First World War (WW1)"
The date of the case and the movement, put it in the UK in time to go to war!
I'm happy with this addition to my pocket watch collection - and welcome inputs / feedback from you experts out there.
Best regards
Mark
Last edited: 16 April, 2013 - 00:36
I know that shooting such rare pieces and then uncovering its history gives you so much excitement and relaxation. I am so happy for you Buddy.
I just know, I waited a long time to find the piece I felt comfortable with that case and movement matched, and that the movement is complete and original ex Schaffhuasen.
I'm sure, the wise men will tell all!
Best regards
Mark
Last edited: 16 April, 2013 - 00:36
Andrew
andrew.thomas1@mac.com
Kevin
Vishal.
Last edited: 13 December, 2012 - 17:09
MfG,
Roman
KM/WWW/Mk.11/666/3508/9239/322712/811/3531/5442/5448/PD etc.
You can't stop the waves, but you can learn to surf - Jon Kabat-Zinn
Regards,
Jeronimo
Omar Khayyám (Persia XI-XII Century) offered that Time should not only be measured in length but also in width due to the intrinsic difference between a minute or other depending on what is happening to the beholder... I wonder how a watch would look like...