The Vintage Wrist Watch Company

Description

Antique silver Cyma pocket watch for J W Benson, 1927.

J W Benson originated in 1847, founded by James William Benson and Samuel Suckley Benson. They were regarded as one of Victorian London’s most prestigious retail jewellers and they also manufactured their own watch movements. The company flourished and proudly boasted an elite client base made up of both British and European royalty and a selection of well heeled industrialists and business figures including the King of Siam, the King of Portugal, the King of Denmark, the Emperor of Japan, the Tsar of Russia and the King of Greece. J W Benson also supplied watches to Queen Victoria and the Prince of Wales.

This particular watch has a Swiss 15-jewel stem-winding movement which is working nicely. The movement carries the calibre number 939a which confirms that it was made by Cyma.

As with many watch manufacturers, J W Benson embraced the newly introduced wristwatch during the first World War. Up until this point, the company was still manufacturing its own movements in the UK but after its factory at Belle Sauvage Yard was hit during a bombing raid in 1914, it purchased mechanisms from a number of quality movement producers in Switzerland, including Cyma.

The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover.

The watch measures 50.7mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is silver and there are hallmarks inside both of the case backs for London 1927, together with the maker’s mark for J W Benson. The case is in good condition, just general light surface marking and a couple of mild bruises to the back but nothing too detrimental.

The acrylic lens is in nice condition.

The signed dial is in nice condition with only a small surface scratch only visible through a jewellers loupe.

The watch has its original blued steel hands.

The watch comes in a new presentation box.
ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE.

Please contact us for international shipping prices.

The Vintage Wrist Watch Company operates on a Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU) basis which means that the international buyer is responsible for any import duties, taxes & customs which may be necessary to release an order from international customs. Tax and import duty varies from country to country so we recommend you check with your local tax office to see if any fees will be payable. If the customer refuses to pay any duty and customs charges and the parcel is returned to sender all shipping and associated charges will be deducted from any refund.

Due to Customs regulations, we are unable to send watches / precious metals to certain countries. If you are unsure about your country’s regulations, please contact us and we can check for you. Any orders from prohibited countries will be refunded, less any Paypal fees which are non-refundable.

All of our watches are checked over before listing, and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch.

We are a VAT registered company and all purchases are covered by Consumer Regulations.

Credit / debit card purchases can be made over the telephone on 01386 750238 or you can proceed via the \'Buy Securely\' button on each listing page.

We are an on-line only business and do not have facilities for callers. Our offices are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

With regards to appraisals / valuations, we receive a huge number of information requests each day and unfortunately do not have the manpower to deal with them all individually. Our advice would be to contact a local auctioneer for a full appraisal.