Hi All,

Could use a little bit of help from someone who knows their way around European pocket watches. Picked up this interesting "P. Paulsen" 16s watch in a southern Michigan antique shop directly north of South Bend, Indiana. The dial is also signed "Bergen," which is in Norway (note the "en" spelling of the last name, which I believe would be Danish or Norwegian). The .800 silver case has a matching signature. Paul T. and I discussed this briefly, and it would appear to be an unmarked Swiss movement. But my research did not yield a single "P. Paulsen" watch of any kind. Any info or thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Pics below:

Paulsen 2

Paulsen 3

Paulsen 4

Paulsen 5

Paulsen 6

Hi Michael.
This is a Swiss private label watch. There could be a serial number under the dial, but most likely not. Average quality, 15 jewels, good time keeper. As you already may have found out, P. Paulsen was a jeweler in Bergen, Norway.
This is what makes it so hard for a collector of Swiss watches. No numbers, no names and therefore no records on the low to average quality watches. On the high end watches on the other hand, it's easier, but much more expensive.

Regards, Krister.

Thanks much for the info, Krister. Do you think the movement is era-correct for the case? Also, any idea when P. Paulsen was in business or what the approximate age of this watch would be?

Regards,

Mike

Yes, I believe the movement is original to the case. The age is more difficult to say since they used very much the same style on the dial and hands for many years. A bold estimate would be 1930's give or take 10 years. There is a serial number on the case, but that is of little help since we don't know the maker.
A quick Google search(P.Paulsen jeweller)tells me that there is a business with that name but if it's the same, who knows?

Regards, Krister.

Thanks again, Krister. I'll do a bit more research on the jeweler and report back if I find anything interesting.

Regards,

Mike

Well, I couldn't come up with any additional info on the jeweler, but I did find out a lot about the case based on the case markings.

The case was in all likelihood made in Switzerland and then imported into Germany. The case is marked .800, and it contains two hallmarks of a grouse, one large and one small. These grouses were the Swiss hallmark for .800 fine silver between 1882 and 1933. After that, the Swiss retired the use of the grouse hallmark, apparently because they banned the use of .800 silver in Swiss-manufactured products after that time. Also, the fact that there is a small grouse stamp in addition to the large one means that the case was intended for export.

The case also has a crown & Crescent Moon mark, which was a German mark for .800 fine silver. It was used on German products for internal sale, and was also required to be stamped on all .800 imported silver. Because the case has the two Swiss grouse hallmarks, we know that it was manufactured in Switzerland for export. And because it also has the German Crown and Crescent, we know it was imported into Germany.

I still can't figure out the Bergen angle. The dial and the case are both marked P. Paulsen, Bergen. As Krister noted, there currently is a present-day P. Paulsen jeweler in Bergen, Norway, but I can't find any additional information on them. There is also a city of Bergen in Germany, near Hanover, I believe, but I can find no P. Pauslen references there. Nor can I determine what the "R.A" stamp in an oval stands for. I assume it is the maker, and such a stamp was used in the past by a Scottish silversmith named Robert Allison, but that wouldn't seem to fit the context here.

So, all I can assume for now is that the watch is of Swiss manufacture, was made some time prior to 1934, and was imported into Germany.

Think I might post this one for sale on the auction forum . . .