{"title":"Half-Hunter","description":"Half-hunter pocket watches, the cover cut with a central window so the time can be read without opening it. A quietly clever form, and one we are fond of; each piece is researched, dated and confirmed running.","products":[{"product_id":"unsigned-swiss-gold-filled-half-hunter-dennison-star-case-c-1920s","title":"Dennison Star Gold-Filled Half-Hunter, English Case, c.1925","description":"\u003cp\u003eA scarce half-hunter pocket watch in a Dennison gold-filled case, fully wound, set, and running, with a pristine white enamel dial.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis half-hunter pocket watch comes in a gold-filled case made by the Dennison Watch Case Company of Birmingham, England, once the largest watch case manufacturer in the country and a longstanding supplier of cases to Rolex, Omega, and Longines among others. The case carries Dennison's \"Star\" grade marking, denoting a bonded 9ct gold outer layer over a base metal core, guaranteed by the maker to wear for ten years, and is stamped with the case serial 759387 alongside the maker's mark inside the cuvette.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe half-hunter configuration sets this piece apart from the more commonly seen open-face and full hunter cases. A small glazed aperture in the front cover allows the time to be read at a glance without opening the watch, a genuinely scarcer and more sought-after format among collectors of English case work.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eInside is an unsigned Swiss lever movement fitted with a sub-seconds dial, housed behind a clean white enamel face with bold Roman numerals and \"SWISS MADE\" marked on the chapter ring. The watch is in full working order: it winds smoothly, sets correctly via the pull-out crown, and keeps running reliably. The dial is in excellent condition throughout, with no chips or hairlines to the enamel.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe case shows honest wear consistent with its age, including light surface scratching to the back cover and a small dent to the front cover; both are cosmetic and do not affect function. The crystal is clear and undamaged, and the crown operates smoothly with no slipping.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBased on the registration date of Dennison's \"Star\" trademark and the overall case features, this watch dates to circa the 1920s, placing it firmly within the golden era of English case manufacturing.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eA genuinely wearable and characterful piece of English watchmaking history, with a case style that's considerably harder to find than the standard open-face or full hunter examples on the market today.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unsigned (Swiss)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54248077099347,"sku":"PW-0060","price":260.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1080\/3121\/3907\/files\/unsigned-swiss-gold-filled-half-hunter-pocket-watch-c1920-front.jpg?v=1783615855"},{"product_id":"unsigned-swiss-ladies-demi-hunter-fob-watch-brooch-monogram-cylinder-30-4mm-c-1895-1905","title":"Fob Watch and Bow Brooch with an H Monogram, c.1900","description":"\u003cp\u003eA complete Belle Epoque ensemble - a petite Swiss fob watch on its original black-enamel bow brooch, its enamel dial glimpsed through a demi-hunter cover of applied rose-gold numerals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is that increasingly rare thing: an antique ladies' fob watch still paired with its original bow brooch, the two made to be worn together. Dating from around 1895 to 1905, it is a small Swiss pendant watch in the Belle Epoque taste - the sort of piece a lady would have pinned to her lapel or blouse.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe demi-hunter case is finished in a dark oxidised tone and set with applied rose-gold Roman numerals around a central glazed aperture, so the time can be read at a glance without opening the cover. Lift it and you find a crisp white enamel dial with an outer Arabic minute track and slender rose-gold hands, one carrying a small gem-set counterpoise that catches the light. Behind the movement, the caseback has been deliberately pierced with the letter 'H' - the initial of its original owner, a personal touch that gives the watch a history of its own.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe movement is a gilt Swiss bar movement with a cylinder escapement, wound by the crown and set via a pin-set pusher. It winds, sets and runs well. Suspended from a matching black-enamel and gold bow brooch, the whole ensemble presents as a considered, wearable antique rather than a loose watch.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHonest notes: there is a small enamel chip at the VI, which sits hidden beneath the cover in normal wear, and the case metal is unmarked. It has not been serviced, so we would suggest the usual clean and oil if it is to be worn daily. None of this detracts from what it is - a complete, characterful matched set from the turn of the century.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Unsigned (Swiss)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54250502553939,"sku":"PW-0085","price":245.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1080\/3121\/3907\/files\/CB_01871-front.jpg?v=1783624080"}],"url":"https:\/\/estatecollection.nl\/collections\/shop-by-case-style-half-hunter.oembed","provider":"The Estate Collection","version":"1.0","type":"link"}