98th Auction
2018/11/10
Lot 151
Henry Moser & Cie., Case No. 50122, 55 mm, 161 g, circa 1890
A heavy hunting case precision pocket watch
Case: 18k gold, two very finely engraved monograms on the front and back side, presentation engraving on the inner lid: "Herrn Heinrich Liebster zur Erinnerung an seinen 25-jährigen pflichttreuen Dienst, 10. Juni 1894 von The Thornton Woolen Mill Co." (Mr. Heinrich Liebster in remembrance of his 25-year service, June 10, 1894, by The Thornton Woolen Mill Co.). Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, gold screw compensation balance.
Coming from a family whose watchmaking roots went back as far as the early 18th century, Henry Moser managed to successfully re-establish the family name as the legendary "Russian Swiss" brand.
Johann Heinrich Moser, the founder of H. Moser & Cie, was born in 1805 and learned his craft from his father; to further his skills, he went to work in Le Locle in Switzerland in 1824. He returned to his home town of Schaffhausen in 1826 with the intention to set up his own business, but his request was rejected by the municipal council and the position of watchmaker to the town given to someone else. Driven by a vision, Heinrich decided to take his business to tsarist Russia, which offered an excellent workforce and a promising trading base for watches at the time. After several employed positions as a watchmaker, Heinrich founded the company Henry Moser & Cie in St. Petersburg in 1828 – strategically changing his name to sound English. He opened a watch factory in Le Locle in 1829, also under the name Henry Moser & Cie.
His first branch in Moscow opened in 1831 and Henry Moser & Cie became supplier to the Tsar and the Russian Army. Moser even extended his sales to Japan, China, Persia and Turkestan, as well as Siberia and Kamchatka. In 1845 the Moser companies in Russia employed around fifty people.
Early in the 20th century the Thornton family owned textile mills near St Petersburg and delivered to the Russian Imperial Court, so that they were able to accumulate significant wealth. During the Russian Revolution in 1917, however, the factories were destroyed and the lands were ravaged by angry dissidents. Production stopped and the family enterprise collapsed under the hands of James Thornton, who indicated that he lost nearly half a million pounds.
Source: https://houseandheritage.org/2016/08/31/conkwell-grange/, as of 08/20/2018
A heavy hunting case precision pocket watch
Case: 18k gold, two very finely engraved monograms on the front and back side, presentation engraving on the inner lid: "Herrn Heinrich Liebster zur Erinnerung an seinen 25-jährigen pflichttreuen Dienst, 10. Juni 1894 von The Thornton Woolen Mill Co." (Mr. Heinrich Liebster in remembrance of his 25-year service, June 10, 1894, by The Thornton Woolen Mill Co.). Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, gold screw compensation balance.
Coming from a family whose watchmaking roots went back as far as the early 18th century, Henry Moser managed to successfully re-establish the family name as the legendary "Russian Swiss" brand.
Johann Heinrich Moser, the founder of H. Moser & Cie, was born in 1805 and learned his craft from his father; to further his skills, he went to work in Le Locle in Switzerland in 1824. He returned to his home town of Schaffhausen in 1826 with the intention to set up his own business, but his request was rejected by the municipal council and the position of watchmaker to the town given to someone else. Driven by a vision, Heinrich decided to take his business to tsarist Russia, which offered an excellent workforce and a promising trading base for watches at the time. After several employed positions as a watchmaker, Heinrich founded the company Henry Moser & Cie in St. Petersburg in 1828 – strategically changing his name to sound English. He opened a watch factory in Le Locle in 1829, also under the name Henry Moser & Cie.
His first branch in Moscow opened in 1831 and Henry Moser & Cie became supplier to the Tsar and the Russian Army. Moser even extended his sales to Japan, China, Persia and Turkestan, as well as Siberia and Kamchatka. In 1845 the Moser companies in Russia employed around fifty people.
Early in the 20th century the Thornton family owned textile mills near St Petersburg and delivered to the Russian Imperial Court, so that they were able to accumulate significant wealth. During the Russian Revolution in 1917, however, the factories were destroyed and the lands were ravaged by angry dissidents. Production stopped and the family enterprise collapsed under the hands of James Thornton, who indicated that he lost nearly half a million pounds.
Source: https://houseandheritage.org/2016/08/31/conkwell-grange/, as of 08/20/2018
Sold
estimated
3.500—4.500 €
Price realized
3.800 €