Chrome Open-Face, Seventeen-Jewel Movement, c.1960s
The Antoine & Fils is a mid-century Swiss pocket watch built to be used. The dial is a model of postwar Swiss clarity: a clean white face, crisp Arabic numerals, and green-luminous sword hands that still carry their glow after sixty-odd years. Beneath the sub-seconds register at 6 o'clock, the words "ANCRE 17 RUBIS" confirm what the movement delivers - a 17-jewel lever escapement, the reliable workhorse of quality Swiss pocket watch production.
At 49mm it sits firmly in the hand, the polished chrome case giving it a purposeful, utilitarian quality that suits the piece. "Antoine & Fils" - Antoine and Sons - was a French-language retailer brand applied to Swiss-made movements throughout the postwar era. The name may be modest, but the movement is not.
It winds smoothly, sets cleanly, and runs well - a genuine working Swiss pocket watch without the premium of a famous name.
