Bohain Silver Watch with a Full 24-Hour Inner Track, c.1900
This is a distinctive late Victorian pocket watch that earns its place in any collection for one reason: the dial. Rather than the standard 12-hour configuration, the white enamel face carries both a 12-hour outer chapter ring and a complete 24-hour inner track in vivid red Arabic numerals - a feature associated with railway workers, telegraph operators, and travellers who needed to read the time in both conventions at a glance. The combination is rare to find intact and in running order.
The case is silver, lever-opening to reveal a gilded Swiss lever movement and a polished dome dust cover. The outer caseback is the visual highlight: fully engraved with flowing Belle Epoque scrollwork, floral motifs, and two birds in flight flanking a blank shield cartouche that was never personalised - the engraving remains crisp and well-defined.
The dial is signed by Gransar-Bricout of Bohain, a French horloger-bijoutier from the Aisne region of northern France whose name appears on dials made to order for local clientele - a common and charming practice among provincial French retailers of the era. The movement runs well and the push-button hand-setting functions correctly.
