Hello George,
Thank you for sending in this pocket watch to mearto.com for an appraisal. I shall try to help you with that today.
TITLE:
Gent’s, Art Nouveau era, 14k rose gold, 45.75mm diameter cased, pendant wound, keyless, open face pocket watch, unsigned by the maker, made in Switzerland circa 1900-1910.
PROVENANCE:
“Inherited from paternal grandparents estate.”
DESCRIPTION:
Case: 45.75mm diameter, three leaf, 14k rose gold, open face pocket watch case with a suppressed ball fluted pendant and round bow placed at the twelve position. The back cover is engine turned rose gold which is engraved with floral and foliate patters around the periphery and has a foliate/floral cameo in the center for the owner’s initials (left blank). The use of natural themes is very much in the style of the Art Nouveau era of circa 1880-1910 when natural designs were stressed. The interior of the case has the case number 29334 and the image of a squirrel with a 14k mark. The squirrel is the Swiss hallmark for 14k gold. The cuvette is marked in French and translated reads, “29534 (not 29334), pendant wound (Remontoir), straight line lever escapement (ancre, ligne droit), 16 jewels (16 Rubis), Breguet regulator (Breguet réglage) referring to the Breguet type hairspring on the balance wheel.
Dial: Round white enameled dial with fine Roman hours, closed minute ring with Arabic markers placed every five minutes around the periphery, sunken subsidiary seconds dial, superb gold Victorian era, skeletonized ‘ringlet and barbed lance’ hands. The dial is unsigned.
Movement: This is an unsigned, nickel, half plate with exposed ratchet and crown wheels, and finger bridge movement, a movement primarily seen made by the Swiss around the turn of the 20th century. There is a curved center wheel bridge and two parallel straight smaller finger bridges. The movement has a straight line lever escapement with a bimetallic balance wheel and Breguet hairspring with a Swiss style index regulator for making the movement faster and slower. This is a fairly common form of movement made by the tens of thousands by Swiss watchmakers from circa 1900 through the next two decades.
CONDITION:
Case – Very good to excellent condition
Dial: Excellent. Movement: Excellent condition, original to this case, genuine and perhaps functional.
COMPARABLES:
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/89356081_agassiz-vtg-14k-solid-gold-working-pocket-watch (plain 14k gold case, but signed by Agassiz, sold for $450 in 2020)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/87372781_1920-s-14k-gold-swiss-hunters-case-pocket-watch (14k gold unsigned cased Swiss made pocket watch sold for $650 in 2020)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/85396438_14k-gold-vacheron-and-constantin-for-davis-and-hawley-of (14k gold Vacheron & Constantin pocket watch sold for $1100 in 2020)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/85396695_14k-gold-henry-moser-and-co-triple-signed-swiss-hc (triple signed hunting case, 14k gold, sold for
$1000 in 2020)
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/76811554_antique-14kt-pocket-watch-and-chain (14k gold unsigned Swiss pocket watch with coin fobs sold for $1000 in 2019)
PRICING:
Your unsigned Swiss made pocket watch is in beautiful condition for its age and that is a real plus. Today’s market prefers to have signed watches and those that are unsigned are affected adversely. So, there is a balance to pricing this family watch, where the plus and minus balance out each other.
The fair market value of your watch if offered on the watch market (not on the gold market), with prices of gold approaching $2000/ounce would be in the range of $800-$1000. Retail prices, of course would be higher. I thank you for choosing Mearto.com for this appraisal of your family heirloom watch. I hope you find the appraisal informative.
My best,
David

Dear GEORGE,
Thank you for contacting Mearto with your appraisal inquiry.
Can you send me photos of (1) the inside of the outer cover with the gold markings and (2) a photo of the movement?
The cuvette just says that the movement has a Breguet setting, and does not indicate that this watch was made by Breguet.
I will await your reply before proceeding with the appraisal.
Thanks,
David