OK, I did it again. Mr.Impulse just bought this... what is it?

Thank you yet again!

John Grennan III (the other John III)

looks like the centre of the back delaminated??

John,

Breaking down the inscription:

Ancre Ligne Droit, translates as 'Right Angled Lever' (escapement).
The lever and pallets sit to one side of the escape wheel, and the centre line of the balance and pallet staff pivots do Not pass through the centre of the escape wheel.

Later movements use 'in-line' levers, where the centre line of the balance and pallet staff also passes through the centre of the escape wheel pivots.

Ancre, is for Anchor type escapement, which basically is a typical fork and pallet arrangement.

'Spiral Breguet', is simply put, a flat spiral hairspring with a Breguet type overcoil on the final curve.
(Helical hairsprings are typically used in Freesprung movements and should not be confused with these).

'Balancier Coupé' is 'Cut Balance'!
Basically, a cut bi-metalic compensation balance, probably with timing screws.

'15 Rubis' is fairly self explanatory, but anyway, it's '15 Ruby Jewels'.

The movement being key wind and set must be quite a nice piece given those refinements, a shot of it would be good if possible.

The 'Breguet' Moon hands look nice ....... not a Breguet watch by any chance is it?

The backs on these continental watches are often separate discs of silver, soldered into the outer band after it's been rolled.
I've had a few where a new disc has been let into the rim.
You could always mod it and turn it into a display back!

John

Apologies all, something about my translation on the watch has been nagging at me since I posted it!

I got the Droite's and Droit's mixed up and totally forgot the gender of the noun (Ligne) plus even typed it in wrong, so totally fluffed it!
put it down to brain fade after a long drive!)

'Ligne Droite' would be 'Straight Line Lever' in this example.
So the lever is most likely placed between the balance and escape wheel, with the balance, pallet staff and escape wheel centres all on the same centre line.

With no power in the train, the balance at rest, the watch perfectly in beat and banking pins adjusted correctly, the fork would be positioned centrally between the banking pins, and the impulse roller placed centrally in the fork of the lever.

Sorry for any confusion!

John

Thank you for your help. As you can see the movement has no ID information on it. It runs fine but I need to know if it is worth restoring.

another

Not much on the covette but the number 800 (sterling silver content I think) and some letters
"JP" with a small symbol below it.

There is also a crown, it looks like there is a cross on top but can't make out the rest. Again, thank you!

John, That is (for it's period) a very high class Swiss "Bar" movement with all the "most advanced refinements".

It is well worth cleaning and restoring. While somewhat finicky to clean and adjust, these watches are very durable and reliable when carried for time's sake.

John, Dave knows the watch market your side of the pond better than me when judging the merits and value of restoring a watch, so he's probably right and worth restoring.

I'm not going to suggest anything either way though, as whatever I advise is likely to come back and bite my *** ...... and I got enough grief for now thanks ...

What I would suggest before blowing your wallet, is decide how much work you can do yourself, and whether the watch is staying in your collection or being sold on!

If you rely totally on the expertise of the 'pro's to do the deed, get some honest quotes based on an in depth inspection - it could avoid a broken heart and wallet!

It shouldn't cost an arm and a leg to repair the case, but the movement Can be a minefield needing an insane amount of time spent on it, and I'll add a few pointers here to help!
As Dave says, they are very durable and reliable movements, as long as they've been cared for.

Check All the jewelling! if any of those jewels are bust, you've got Real hassle - they're very thin 'Rubbed in' types, and the cocks and bridges so thin, a repairer of any experience - even with the benefit of all the bells and whistles in tools and parts, is going to groan at the thought of replacing them! (or whoop with joy at the thought of a goodly few hours work)!

Especially check the mainspring barrel and centre wheel bushings for wear - you can make a simple cursory check yourself just by tilting each side of the barrel and wheel.

There shouldn't be much slop on a well cared for and lightly used watch, but I can guarantee there will be some, and how much wear, will dictate whether or not the bridges and dial plate will need bushing.
Any affected and associated pivots will need refacing too.

The barrel bridge is a case in point, and if you take off the dust cap, you'll find the bridge is cut away to a hair's breadth next to the ratchet wheel - done to clear the tooth on the click.

These movements are infamous for breaking at this point, and any bad wear there is going to make re-bushing a Very fiddly job, and sometimes near impossible.
If under the dial, the dial plate is solid with a pivot hole supporting the barrel arbor pivot, you're in luck as the barrel is well supported.

If the barrel is openly visible and relies totally on the barrel bridge as its sole bearing, you could have grief, because that sole thin pivot hole in the bridge carries all the thrust from the key during winding - and transmission of power from the spring.

The centre bridge is very similar, because although having more meat at the sides (no click to mess with), they're usually filed very thin to clear the wheel.

A dead giveaway of these issues, is scuff marks on the barrel and wheel plating, and the underside of the bridges marked where the wheels have tilted and rubbed.

The main cause of this wear besides being worked to death, is a user heaving on the key when winding and setting, and too often, the centre square gets snapped off.

Your watch appears very clean and unaltered, and you're likely to be OK, but be aware of these issues.
Hopefully you'll get away with a good service and a mainspring for it.

John