Now the bid has ended, I wanted to add here a couple of pictures of a rare Seeland pocket watch I wished I could have saved for my vault. The auction took place on a Swiss web platform this evening.
But...was I bidding against the bank?! It seems one fellow collector was determined to get it at any price. Congrats to him.
What do you think? How far should a collector go to get a rare item?
According to the current nomenclature this is not a Seeland but a cal.28 bascule à pilliers Pfister Tschopp IWC watch.
This caliber is rare and sought after. Moreover, this movement has an extraordinary finish that I have never seen. There are two experts on this caliber who are forum members : "Saltuarius" and "Watch77"
Probably they will react wenn they see your post.
By the way, I am not the buyer, I did not even know it was offered. The price for such watch is unpredictable, but a "normal" golden cal. 28 will fetch between 2-3000 Euro, a silver one 1000 less.
Kind regards,
Adrian,
(alwaysiwc)
Indeed, quiet extraordinary and the other Collector definitely wanted it badly (why not - as you wrote, it's a pretty rare piece).
Now of course, the only real question is will the new owner actually take the trouble and have that case repaired - restoring the missing bow, etc?
@Adrian: I wasn't certain it was a cal. 28, how can you tell from cal. 22? Numbering? Anyhow it went a bit less than four numbers, which is still reasonable imho, given the overall state.
Indeed I wish the buyer would soon chime in once restored and provide good detailed pictures, as well as some history. This oldie deserve to be taken well of.
And it was not even bidding against the banker
Dear PPGRIG,
Indeed there is some similarity with cal 22.
The threequarter plate has almost the same shape. But in cal. 22 there is only one cock visible, a so called two step cock that holds the balance wheel. In cal 28 there are 2 cocks visible, opposed to each other.
Kind regards,
Adrian
(alwaysiwc)
It is really a very nice c.28 "à bascule à pillier" with an extraordinary decoration.
It is not really a Seeland.
The number 103022 or 105022 (or similar) is showing it is a late one of this movement.
It is possible it was sold and decorated much later (>= 1885) than the base-movement (ebauche) was produced (early 1880's).
It would be interesting to have the exact serial numbers of case an movement.
regards
watch77
P.S. the "Chronometer" indication is probably a bit "Fantasy"
PS. PS. when you look closer you see a "1/2" in the engraving and it becomes demi-chronometer or mi-chronomenter which was quite common for this watch/movement.
And I was last week in holidays and not bidding on that one.... but probaly I would have helped the "bank" ;-)
Yes this is a very unusual cal 28. I have never seen decoration like this before.
I cannot add anything to what WATCH77 has already said.
Likewise I may have competed with the 'bank' had I known about it!
I think the banker was not trying hard enough :-)
Hy everybody! Guess what's my name? People call me "the bank" ;) just kidding...
I was just visiting the forum when i saw this article and thought,"hey this is my pocket watch, i recently bought!"
Yes, i am the one who bought this extraordinary cal. 28. I have never seen one like this, so i had to bid and bid and bid....
The good thing is, i am an enthusiast like you and willing to restore this rare piece of IWC history to its deserved condition.
Here are some pictures i took today (before reading this article)
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Yes, there is 1/2 Chronometre engraved...[
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and here a picture of the front, the dial has absolutely no single hairline crack or anything, there is just a small crack in the crystal, but i think i will replace it anyway. You can see that the minute numerals are painted by hand.
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I already had contact with Michael and Mark. Thank you for the informations and tips for the restoration!
Any other infos or thoughts are welcome!
Best Regards
Philippe
Congrats on the beauty and great photos, thanks for sharing Philippe!
Thank you Ben! I will soon show this watch to Dr. Seyffer in Schaffhausen.
@AlwaysIWC:
Your price estimation may be right for a normal cal. 28. But this is the only one known in a chronometre case and with this finish. Silver case doesnt matter, the price for this one is much higher than a normal. It is unique on the market, especially after restoration.
Hi Philippe,
I wonder can you tell me does the lever have a counterbalance? Normally the cal 28/29 do not have a counterbalance, but a few special ones do have. So it might just have?
Regards,
Alan
Thanks gents, especially Philippe for chiming in. My bait worked :-)
Not every collector would be ready to show and tell, and we most certainly appreciate the fact you saved this one for a good restauration, and provided pictures here.
That would be especially even better, if D.S. could dig into the archives and tell us a bit more about the reason for the 1/2 chrono case and the special decoration on the plates.
Now I'm just curious Philippe if you are ready for showing it live to me. I understand you live in the german part of Switzerland? I'd be so happy to see it in the flesh!
Congratulations Philippe. A marvellous rare pocket watch
In my collection there is a c.29 hunter, 18 K gold and signed "Half Chronometer" on the dust cover, but of course without the unique decoration. I think the term "half chronometer" was more frequent at that time.
H.G.A.
Yes I also have a calibre 29 with 'Half Chronometer' written on the cuvette.
I don't think it means anything – just a sales gambit.
Alan
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