I just picked up this movement and can't ID the maker, nor find any information on the names on the dial and movement. I am assuming it is a private label Swiss movement. It has a very clean dial marked Staples & Luce. The movement is marked Staples & Luce Skowhegan Me. It's about a 16 size. And I would like to know what type lever this is. I don't think I have seen one like it. Thanks for any info you may have.

The movement.....

Another angle of the movement.....

Mary Ann

I am not any help on the type of movement & so far I am drawing a blank on a Staples & Luce in Skowhegan Me. I find people by both names in the city but none connected with a jewelry business & nothing on the business. I will keep looking.

Tom

Mary Ann

Only trace so far is an Ezra Staples of Skowhegan named as a silversmith or connected with coin silver spoons. ? Tom ?

Elliot & Staples Farmington 1855 clockmaker watchmaker

Gerald

Thanks Gerald

Ezra Staples was born about 1825 & in 1870 Skowhegan Me was listed as a jeweler. So perhaps he is the Staples in the name. I will keep looking

Found a TR Luce in Kingsbury Maine, not too sure what type of business he was in.

The watch is swiss made.
It has a swiss lever escapement (club tooth wheel) in the side-lever version (fr. 'ancre ligne rectanguleur') = balance pinion, lever and escapement wheel are arranged in a right angle ; the other version would be the straight lever (fr. 'ancre ligne droite'). In the earlier time of lever escapements the lever was poised ore counter-balanced. It was thought that this would avoid positional errors. The balancing of the lever brought up some nice forms like the 'moustache' or as in your example the 'coquille' bishop's crook. The watch has 15(13) jewels ,depends on the existence of lever pallet-jewels. The hairspring is flat the balance is bi-metallic but uncut. I would think the watch was made c 1880 for the britisch market ( only slow - fast markers).
I like the dial and esp. the matching hands.

Regards,
Gerald

Thank you very much, Tom and Gerald, for the information that you did find on Staples and Luce and for the name and type of lever! I greatly appreciate it! Maybe they were not in business together long enough to be mentioned in newspapers, etc. I need to find a gold second hand that is similar to the hour/minute hands. The current one is blued.

Again, thank you very much. If you should run across any info on Mr. Staples and/or Mr. Luce, please let me know.