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<BR><h1><font color=brown>Ca. 1910s Heuer "Rose" pocket watch</h1>
<P>by C. Bradley Jacobs</center></font>
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<B>My timepiece for show-and-tell today</b> is one that I inherited from my father’s side of the family. It is a ca. 1910s-era rose gold pocketwatch labeled “Rose.” It’s about a 12-size, rather thin, and pretty accurate. I’ll describe a few of the elements of the watch, show a bunch of photographs, give a little historical insight (hopefully) into the brand and then tell a little about the family history of the watch. That sounds like a full-day seminar agenda, but I’ll try to be succinct.
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/403E65100BE9439/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>At first glance, this watch appears to be nothing too special. The dial looks stamped and the numerals, indices, etc. are painted. The case is thin, with a snap-on bezel and a hinged back with no cuvette. There is a very thin chain made from metal of two colors, and a rose gold-clad knife marked “Geo. Wostenholm & Son.” Both knife and caseback are engraved with the monogram “CHJ.”
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/5357F84FCA4B2E3/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>At a second glance, however, there are many elements of the watch that hint at its being a piece of high quality, albeit perhaps at a budget. The case appears to be solid gold, which I assume is 14k because it appears to be American-made. There are no hallmarks, but the case is stamped C.W.C. CO. and, because such an old case shows no sign of brassing, I feel confident that it is, in fact, solid gold. Neither the knife nor the chain/clasps have any hallmarks either, but the knife shows no brassing, so I assume it is also clad in solid gold. The chain is made of thin wire pieces, folded multiple times, and linked together in a pattern of three links of each color, repeating.
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/4AC618244EB97AB/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>Other small details are eye-catching. The dial, although it appears to be stamped, is decorated with a few sunken areas and a couple different textures. In one photo I tried to show the pseudo hand-engraved area in the center. The rest of the dial has a vertical brushed finish. Note also the lovely art-deco numerals used on the dial. I find the 3 and 10 particularly pleasing.
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/819980AA6D30CA2/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/247A20A1421F401/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/00941CE01EF7E76/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>The real beauty of this watch, to me, is in the movement. The uppermost surfaces of the movement are all decorated with a fine perlage which is complemented by a larger perlage pattern under the balance.
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/E88FB89D741EDFA/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>The balance cock not only features the perlage, but is also engraved with some fancy scroll-work and what appears to be the points of a compass at rest on a piece of parchment (near the hub of the regulator). There is very little other decoration/engraving on the movement save for the jewel count and the text “The Rose” above an engraved, stylized flower…which will bring us, after these photos, to the history of this brand.
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/45F2EA91841C3C1/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/E40793F47A3952A/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/4FE0E3DE31EF47E/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>The only reference I have found to “The Rose” as a watch company or brand, is in the large TAG Heuer history (and picture book) <u>Mastering Time</u>. It states that Heuer, with the help of their US Distributing partner, Freund, entered the US market in the early 1900s as The Rose Watch Company. More information is given in the book regarding the various brand names used by Heuer (and their brief acquisition of Jules Jurgensen), and I will refrain from including too much detail here. Besides, without another source, I hesitate to consider this gospel. Let’s just assume that this watch is, in fact, an early Heuer dress pocketwatch made for the US market. All of a sudden, this unassuming little flower has a more radiant blossom.
<P><img src="/http://www.fototime.com/7D6107AA2903992/orig.jpg" border=4>
<P>To close, I’ll just give a little family history. This watch came to me via my father’s eldest brother, Charlie, whose initials are CHJ. Charlie, however, was born 10-20 years after this watch was made and it is his grandfather who was the original owner of the watch. In other words, my great-grandfather carried this watch and knife in the early 20th century and it has found its way to me over the course of roughly 90 years. It’s a great source of pride (and it gives me great pleasure to share with you) that this is one of about 5 timepieces that belonged to my parternal grandfather and great-grandfather. I have shown photos before of the enormous “Goliath” watch/clock, the 1927 Hamilton cushion wristwatch, and the 1912 Howard 23j pocketwatch, and have included a shot of each below. This is the fourth of the group—the fifth is, sadly, in desperate need of restoration. It is a Longines PW in 14k rose gold case with a lovely, adjusted movement that has been badly corroded by moisture, as has the dial.
<P>I hope you enjoyed this presentation. I am grateful to this group and this venue for the opportunity to share these heirlooms. They so rarely get use, and it is a wonderful thing to be able to broadcast the spirit of these timepieces to an appreciative group of folks whom I consider to be my friends.
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<P><center><A HREF="http://www.watchcarefully.com/articles/goliath.html" target=_new><IMG SRC="http://www.fototime.com/68A4DE7091F9711/orig.jpg" border=0 WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=220 hspace=5 VSPACE=5 alt="Goliath 8-day watch"></A>
<P><A HREF="http://www.fototime.com/393668F65B2B225/orig.jpg" target=_new><IMG SRC="http://www.fototime.com/393668F65B2B225/orig.jpg" border=0 WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=220 hspace=5 VSPACE=5 alt="A 1928 Hamilton Cushion in 14k white gold"></A>
<P><A HREF="http://www.fototime.com/262DB146B5746C9/orig.jpg" target=_new><IMG SRC="http://www.fototime.com/262DB146B5746C9/orig.jpg" border=0 WIDTH=320 HEIGHT=220 hspace=5 VSPACE=5 alt="A 23-jewel Howard 12-size watch"></A>
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<P><center> For more watch articles by C. Bradley Jacobs, visit:
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