Men’s Big Sterling Silver BORGEL Trench Watch WW1 Era - Extra
Item History & Price
I am selling some watches from my personal collection. All of these are good specimens worthy of your attention. They will be clearly photographed and honestly described, and I welcome any questions. This is an exceptionally nice full-sized BORGEL Trench Watch from the end of WW1. BORGEL watches are well known as one of the earliest practical attempts to produce waterproof and dustproof watch cases. They were expensive and respected in their time, and were produced by the Taubert firm ...from the early 1900s right up to the beginning of World War Two. This example, proofed for 1918, shows light honest wear commensurate with 100 years of service, but is in overall outstanding shape. It is solid and is currently running and ready for its second century of service. The solid sterling silver Borgel case is in very nice overall condition, showing light wear, and scattered light marks and scratches. This is the rarer full sized model, and measures 34.25 mm in diameter. The 12mm wire lugs are sound and secure. The solid, heavy case has no engraving or personalization on the back, and the knurling on the bezel is still well defined. The inner caseback shows the typical British stamps, including the London import mark, the sponsors mark GS, for George Stockwell, a well known London import agent, the date stamp “c”, which indicates 1918 production and the 925 mark for Sterling Silver. There is also the FB mark for Francois Borgel, the registered mark of Taubert Freres, the owners of the Borgel patents and the makers of these cases. The acrylic crystal is excellent, clear and with only a few light scratches. The brass finished winding crown is in good condition. It functions properly, winding the movement and setting the hands smoothly when the nail-set mechanism is engaged by pushing the small button located beneath the crown. This neat trench watch is fitted with a nice, double sunk porcelain enamel, dial featuring bold luminous Arabic numerals (the radium material has been removed and replaced with a modern non-radioactive substitute that does not glow). It is unsigned, as was common at the time. This dial is in excellent condition showing no chips or scratches but there are a couple of short, light and barely visible hairline cracks at 10 and 12 and another almost invisible mark above 6. The blued veined luminous hands are in excellent condition. The watch is powered by a nice 15 jewel, manual wind, 12 1/2 ligne, nickel finished movement of unknown manufacture. It runs well and keeps accurate time, although I don’t know the date of its last service. Please be aware that it will eventually need to be serviced in order to maintain good running order. Currently fitted with a new black leather “Kitchener” style strap, this exceptional timepiece is a very nice example of a rare officers trench watch, a genuine survivor of the First World War. Winning bidder to prepay bid +$5.00 via PayPal, for fast, securely boxed, insured shipping via USPS Priority Mail. International buyers to pay shipping at cost. Please check my feedback as I’ve enjoyed well over twenty successful years on eBay. Check my other listings and thanks for looking.
