Antique Watch Chain "Gold Zur Wehr". Germany, 1916. With Pocket Watch

This piece is a very special item for its historic relevance and ancient age. It is a pocket watch iron chain made in Germany during World War I, in 1916. The chain is the kind known as GOLD ZUR WEHR, an inscription engraved in one of the links. This is an original piece from those times that comes with a fine modern pocket watch that boasts a nice vintage design. The watch works perfectly: it has Swiss quality movement, highly precise and in very good condition.One of the links bears the mentioned inscription: GOLD ZUR WEHR EISEN ZUR HER. These German words mean Gold for Defense Iron for Honor. The sentence indicates that the owner of the original gold chain gave it to the German government during World War I so they could use the gold to fund the content. The citizens were given iron chains like the one we can see in these images that testified for their patriotic collaboration. Another iron link shows the following inscription: IN EISERNER ZEIT 1916, that stands for in iron times 1916. It probably refers to the hard time that the German nation lived in those years. The chain is complete and though it shows the logical signs of wear due to the trace of time, these details are part of its history and its past.On the other hand, the watch that comes with the chain is an excellent accessory that contains a great 17 jewels Swiss movement and a decorative engraved metal box. The pocket watch is not antique but from the 80's or 90's of the XX century.This vintage solid chain is a witness of the hard times that Europe lived in the early 20th century. It is a real find for any lover of war and historic antiques. Watchs measurements: Height (with crown): 59 cm. Width: 48 mm.