Post by GLADIATOR on Aug 9, 2013 8:19:45 GMT -6
One cannot avoid in the passion and quest of learning and understanding the beginning of the wristwatch to bypass the story of the 'hermetic' timepieces.
Starting with 'sealed' pieces first patented by Francois Borgel in 1891, to the 'semi hermetic' patented by Charles Rothen an employ of Francois Borgel's daughter who took over after her father died.
To the 'fully hermetic' originally believed to have been first patented by Jean Finger in 1921, but later found to have been preceded by Gruen some 4 yrs earlier (applied 1918/granted 1919)
To the final Rolex 'Oyster' patent originally patented by Perregaux and Perret on October 30th 1925, and bought by Hans Wilsdorf for the launch of the now famous Rolex Oyster in 1926.
My first fully hermetic timepiece and probably the most 'exotic' watch in my collection even to-day is my 14kt EBERHARD
In January 1921 Jean Finger of Longeau, Berne, Switzerland was granted Swiss patent number 89276 for a "Montre à remontoire avec boitier protecteur" literally a watch with a protective box. The watch was placed inside a larger case with a screw-down bezel which formed an hermetic seal totally protecting the watch. Once the bezel was unscrewed, the smaller watch case came out on a hinge to allow the hands to be set and the movement wound. Although this achieved the desired waterproof effect, it had the major drawback that the front bezel had to be unscrewed every day so that the watch could be wound. Apart from being a nuisance to the owner, the case threads and the milling on the bezel wore quite quickly from this continuous use, so this was a far from ideal solution. However, despite the drawbacks a number of manufacturers including Eberhard produced watches using this case design. It appears that Wilsdorf must have liked the design and bought the patent, because a Rolex watch called the "Hermetic" using this case design was produced from 1924 and similar designs from other manufacturers disappeared.
Inline images 2
Inline images 3
And lest we forget, the Gruen identical patent (more or less) applied 1918 granted 1919
So when I saw this a variation on that Fully Hermetic, by the famous watch manufacturer MARVIN, I decided to add it to my collection.
The movement signed MARVIN has a 15 jewel hand, and 3 adjustments, .
The case is .925 silver and is marked inside the case back Double Boitier Brevet ✞ 89276, together with the case maker's mark for Jean Finger. The bezel rather than unscrewing turns 90 degrees (anti clockwise) to remove and reveal the watch inside which also has a silver case. The watch hinges out to allow the hands to be set and the movement wound.
The dial is signed Marvin Hermetic, Swiss Made. The dial has a faint hairline crack which runs from number 10 towards the number 4. But still very collectible.
Starting with 'sealed' pieces first patented by Francois Borgel in 1891, to the 'semi hermetic' patented by Charles Rothen an employ of Francois Borgel's daughter who took over after her father died.
To the 'fully hermetic' originally believed to have been first patented by Jean Finger in 1921, but later found to have been preceded by Gruen some 4 yrs earlier (applied 1918/granted 1919)
To the final Rolex 'Oyster' patent originally patented by Perregaux and Perret on October 30th 1925, and bought by Hans Wilsdorf for the launch of the now famous Rolex Oyster in 1926.
My first fully hermetic timepiece and probably the most 'exotic' watch in my collection even to-day is my 14kt EBERHARD
In January 1921 Jean Finger of Longeau, Berne, Switzerland was granted Swiss patent number 89276 for a "Montre à remontoire avec boitier protecteur" literally a watch with a protective box. The watch was placed inside a larger case with a screw-down bezel which formed an hermetic seal totally protecting the watch. Once the bezel was unscrewed, the smaller watch case came out on a hinge to allow the hands to be set and the movement wound. Although this achieved the desired waterproof effect, it had the major drawback that the front bezel had to be unscrewed every day so that the watch could be wound. Apart from being a nuisance to the owner, the case threads and the milling on the bezel wore quite quickly from this continuous use, so this was a far from ideal solution. However, despite the drawbacks a number of manufacturers including Eberhard produced watches using this case design. It appears that Wilsdorf must have liked the design and bought the patent, because a Rolex watch called the "Hermetic" using this case design was produced from 1924 and similar designs from other manufacturers disappeared.
Inline images 2
Inline images 3
And lest we forget, the Gruen identical patent (more or less) applied 1918 granted 1919
So when I saw this a variation on that Fully Hermetic, by the famous watch manufacturer MARVIN, I decided to add it to my collection.
The movement signed MARVIN has a 15 jewel hand, and 3 adjustments, .
The case is .925 silver and is marked inside the case back Double Boitier Brevet ✞ 89276, together with the case maker's mark for Jean Finger. The bezel rather than unscrewing turns 90 degrees (anti clockwise) to remove and reveal the watch inside which also has a silver case. The watch hinges out to allow the hands to be set and the movement wound.
The dial is signed Marvin Hermetic, Swiss Made. The dial has a faint hairline crack which runs from number 10 towards the number 4. But still very collectible.
