Pristine Timepiece

Another contact made this week! I am grateful to Phil from GoldSovereignExpert.com for sending and allowing me to publish these photos of his beautiful William Bent pocket watch, Serial number 16581.

Wow! What a Beauty!

Full Hunter, 18ct gold, keyless William Bent watch, hallmarked for 1879 in pristine condition. The dial, the movement and the case all display the serial number 16581. The winding crown is positioned at 3 o'clock.
The small button located to the right of the pendant, is depressed when setting the hands with the crown.



The Three-quarter plate movement is revealed after opening the rear case cover and then the cuvette. (two 18ct gold covers seal and protect the movement).

It is indeed a privilege to include this very fine William Bent pocket watch within these pages and I thank Phil from GoldSovereighExpert.com for sharing these pictures with us. This watch is in such amazing condition for over 135 years old, I have never seen anything of this standard before.

The Hallmarks for Gold:

At the Top - The crown for British standard before 1975.
On the Left - Date Letter "D" for 1879.
On the Right - The leopard's head for assayed in London.
At the Bottom - The purity mark for 18 carat gold.
(Source: www.gold-traders.co.uk)

Sold on the Internet

A keyless, three-quarter plate, non fusee movement #17465 sold on the Internet this week.
The sale occurred on 4 Aug 2014 and the details have been added to the Catalogue.
By recording the details of these sales we can discover how many William Bent pieces are out there.


These pictures are of a similar movement #17481...
This three-quarter plate design was a later improvement in the evolution of the pocket watch as the key wind and set fusee pattern was gradually replaced by the crown and stem.

Although the majority of William Bent watches are key wind fusee full plate lever, here is an unusual hybrid #13385 incorporating a key wind fusee three-quarter plate encased in a unique hinged rim dust cover. Is this the missing link between key wind and crown wind?