Rare Solid Silver Invar Working Pocket Watch. Switzerland, 1915

This Invar silver pocket watch was made in Switzerland in 1915. The watch is in very good condition and excellent working order, having been fully revised, cleaned and adjusted in order to guarantee its good performance. The watchs box is made of sterling silver with hallmarks and some parts are gold-plated. The front cap is made of glass and protects an elegant white face with black Arab numbers and filigree hands. The face bears the word INVAR printed at the top. The Invar watch company was founded in 1901 by Achille Hirsch in La Chaux de Fonds, Switzerland. The word invar is actually the name of a metal alloy notable for its relative lack of expansion or contraction with temperature changes. It comes from the word invariable and was discovered in 1896 by Charles Edouard Guillaume, who received the Nobel Prize of Physics for this discovery. Achille Hirst registered the trademark to distribute watches with invar balance wheels in their movements. This way, anyone who bought an Invar watch could be sure that the movement was a quality one. On the other hand, Hirsch was a very prolific watch distributor who registered hundreds of trademarks. The watchs rear cap bears an engraved shield in the center on a net background. Inside we can see the word GALONNÉ under the initials C.M.I., the silver proportion (0,800), a hallmark depicting a crown and a moon and the serial number 247957 at the bottom. The dustcap bears the engraved INVAR brand name and a series of medals; inside the serial number and the proportion appear again, but in this case the hallmark corresponds to the Swiss silver (a capercaillie). The extremely beautiful movement bears the brand name and the serial number 285565 engraved in its pieces. Because of its quality and rareness, this striking antique pocket watch deserves a honor place in the best collection. Measurements: Width: 51 mm. Height: 62 mm.