I'm not a purse carrier generally so this has been a pocket watch for the last few days. It was made by Juvenia but retailed by(I assume)by "O. Fresard/ Lucernne". I repaired it tis week for a friend who found it in an estate sale. Three pics total. The first is of the outside of the closed case. The two tone case is 18k and weighs 43 grams sans movement.

It didn't take too long to I.D. the mov't but the Schild 1146 is, apparently, not too common so, it took a while to find a 'scape wheel to replace the bust one. After getting incorrect replacements twice, I found a likely parallel mov't, a Bulova 8AH. The part was ordered from Switzerland and finally arrived to my great relief.

The case has a spring loaded hinge and it is held shut with a friction lip. That aspect had worn out so the watch would not stay shut. It took a lot of finessing, tapping, burnishing etc.but, the watch now closes with a nice snap.

There is one point that amazed me the most though involving the metal work on the case. My pic in the above post may be upside down because I think the "art" on the case is supposed to represent J's for Juvenia. Now, I have seen some fancy metal work before but this is something I hadn't seen before. The "J's" are not inlaid white gold on yellow, the white goes through the case to the other side. It is as if the lids were made in a bar (think stick of butter) with the white "J's" running through the bar one end to the other. The lid would be a "pat" from that bar, sliced from the end somehow.

If you followed that, congratulations. If you have a better theory how this could have been made, that's even better!
-Cort

Cort, I see why you like it.

Any chance that the "J" portions were knocked out of the case material, completely through, then different color pieces closely fitted in and soldered? (May not be any easier to understand than yours, but I am being helped at the keyboard by my cat.)

MIke

Thank you Mike (and feline assistant). That is as good a theory as mine and probably more likely. There are no marks that indicate solder but, this case was masterfully made.

If this watch was simply melted for scrap it would have nearly $700- in value. It takes considerable effort sometimes to find a buyer who is willing to pay more than a smelter.Although this watch is secure, I find that buying and selling watches is easier when the price of gold is a bit lower.
-Cort

Hi Cort!
Thanks for sharing pics and info you gathered on this really cool purse watch you restored!

Your welcome Stephanie, I'm glad you liked it.

By the way, I posted about an ultra-slim Audemars a few months ago. This watch was from the same estate. Gorgeous stuff!
-Cort

Cort,
That's one nice looking watch! I love them when they are unusual or different, but you can also really see the quality in this one too. I like it a lot. Congratulations!

You may want to check out the url below and see what it says about the company. Pretty high end and still in business too!

Not much on the net about this company, but they have been around since 1860?

Really nice find.

Logo still on the net!!!!!

http://www.europastar.com/europastar/magazine/article_d...ontent_id=1000559267

Cort;
Thanks for sharing the information regarding purse watches. An aunt of mine has one and I have been digging around for information regarding them. This is what I have found thus far:

Travel or so-called purse watches were very popular in the 1920’s-1940’s during the transition from pocketwatches to wristwatches, when they were fashionable for both men & women to carry them in a pocket or purse, The Movado "Ermettos" were promoted as a sports, or golfer’s watch to be worn in lieu of a wristwatch for protection from the vigorous swing of the golf club. Many of these watches were designed with built in covers and ingenious opening systems to protect the face of the watch when being carried, and featured either a small easel or pop-up function which enabled them to double as a night stand or desk watch for traveling.

Movado grade Ermetto had a ratchet wind or a manual wind

Other manufactures:
Rolex
Tissot
Welbro (a private label for Movado?)

Fashionable they may have been, but I am not too certain as to how popular they were. There do not appear to be a lot of them around. The various companies also appear to have unique different case styles which may or may not have been patented. For example, Movado employed a “split pillow” design (as did Welbro) which pulled open in the middle. Rolex cases looked like Movado cases, but sprung open at the end. The one Tissot of which I saw a photo, had a gorgeously enameled, Arte Deco stylized “butterfly” case which sprung open (splitting in the middle) when the lower portions of the wings were squeezed together. I am guessing to say that initially they were “targeted” at the well-to-do flappers of the 1920s. They are just too expensively made to have strictly been used by golfers. Does anyone else know anything about them?

Thank you Shiela for the link and Mark for the interesting comments. The best info regarding purse (or hermetic) watches that I am aware of is contained in two Bulletin articles written by Bernard Bowman Jr.. The articles appeared in issue 290 and 336 and they contain info and pics of dozens of these watches. Definitely worth checking out.
-Cort

Cort,
I have to admit that you may have gotten me hooked. I like the look of these, even though I have little to look at. I will have to find the information you listed and take a look at them.

Mark,
Great information, thank you.

Here is an unusual purse watch from my collection.

Opened

A cousin -- closed

Open

Another style

Watch face

A "real" purse watch

Dial

Excellent thread; beautiful watches. Thank you to all contributors.

Ethan,
Really nice pile of purse watches you got there. I retitled this post to reflect the additional super purse watches. Your collection is wonderful!
-Cort

OK OK OK I can tell that you are trying to "Hook" me, but you had me with the first one!

These are really outstanding, I love them all!

I LOVE that they are so different, and the style is fantastic.

You have new competition, watch out!

It's all your own fault. lololol