Workers' Watch in a Geneva 1896 and Milan 1906 Medal Case, c.1910
The Roskopf Patent was Georges Frédéric Roskopf's 1867 design for an affordable, robust working man's watch. In 1873 Roskopf handed his business to Wille Frères and their partner Charles-Léon Schmid of La Chaux-de-Fonds; the Schmid house, Vve Ch.-Léon Schmid & Cie, won the Diplôme d'Honneur at Milan in 1906 and registered this cuvette mark in 1913. This example was made in the years after the 1906 Milan International Exhibition: the cuvette is stamped MÉDAILLE D'OR GENÈVE 1896 and DIPLOME D'HONNEUR MILAN 1906 around the Roskopf star, ringed by struck images of prize medals.
The white enamel dial has bold Arabic numerals, red 13 to 24 numerals on the outer track, and a sub-seconds register at 6 o'clock, and fine hairlines run through the enamel across the centre. The gilt hands are ornate and intact. The movement, a Roskopf pin-lever in gilded brass with a jewelled balance, winds smoothly and runs well. The hands set by the push-button in the band.
Nickel silver open-face case with embossed Roskopf star medallion to the outer case back. Light surface wear consistent with age.
