Grail Watch

@grail-watch.com

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⏱️Watch industry ⌚️ historian and writer 👨‍💻 The search for (horological) grails is the search for illumination!

1907 Courvoisier Frères Mobilis
DeLimoge’s Montre Squelette in 1910
1910 advertisement showing Charles A. DeLimoge’s production version of the Linzaghi tourbillon
1910 advertisement for Charles A. DeLimoge’s offerings (which were based on his acquisition of Cécile Schorpp-Vaucher’s assets)
Russbach’s registration of Linzaghi’s prototype tourbillon
Louis Linzaghi’s Swiss patent drawing for his tourbillon
1908 advertisement for the Courvoisier Frères Mobilis
The original Mobilis tourbillon pocketwatch from 1905
A watch incorporating an aneroid barometer was developed, allowing users to forecast weather and measure altitude. The watch features a barometer scale for weather predictions and a movable altitude scale, calibrated to track changes in atmospheric pressure with elevation.
The "Astra" Electric-Light Clock. What could be more pleasant than having a portable electric light at hand at any hour of the night to check the exact time? With the "Astra" clock, there is no longer any need to get up to strike a match and check your watch or alarm clock, nor is there a need for a repeating watch; simply reach out and engage the contact. A single second suffices; assuming the light is used only three times a night for five seconds each time, the clock's built-in battery will last for several years without needing a recharge.
Regarding "Skeleton" watches. I have received issue No. 23 of the *Revue*, which contains a description of a "skeleton" watch under your general heading "Horological Curiosities." As the sole owner of this trademark—registered with the Federal Intellectual Property Office under No. 5087 on April 27, 1898—I request that you, as a subscriber to your publication and in the interest of fairness, publish a notice informing your readers that I am the only person legally authorized to manufacture and sell the said "Skeleton" watch. This is particularly important regarding the clients to whom I have granted exclusive rights. For your information, I am submitting for your inspection a document stamped by the General Patent Office and the Federal Intellectual Property Office, certifying that the extension agreement was duly registered on June 19, 1903, for a new three-year period, along with a photograph of the watch in question. C. SCHORPP-VAUCHER
1898 design registration by Schorpp-Vaucher
The exhibition of Messrs. Schorpp & Vaucher, successors of the house J. Schorpp-Vaucher, consists of repeaters, including one with a high ring, in chronographs, calendars, rocker and anchor chronometers, in neat quality, set for first class ballots. It is completed by various movements in a circle, and, as a curiosity, by a so-called "skeleton" watch.
December 25, 1898 advertisement for the “Montre Squelette” from La Chaux-de-Fonds watchmaker J. Schorpp-Vaucher
Pistachio dial Breitling Premier B01 chronograph
The 1959 Polerouter line included the classic with Microtor, the new thin Jet, and the Date
The Buren Super Slender was the thinnest automatic watch in the world
Buren and Universal coordinated their messaging and announcements
The Universal micro-rotor patent came 11 months later (before the Buren patent was published!)
The original Buren micro-rotor patent, filed in June 1954
Hans Kocher invented the micro-rotor movement while serving as technical director of the Buren Watch Company
Buren and Universal announced the thinnest automatic watch in the world at a joint press conference on February 18, 1958
“On June 10, 1967 from midnight, the clocks of the Vatican City were connected to an electronic time center, built by the Electronics Division of the Geneva house Patek Philippe. This plant will also give the exact time to Radio-Vatican.”
Hans Kocher, designer of the Buren Super Slender movement
A formula written in the Buren Super Slender ad
Bandi and Kocher co-authored this September 1957 article about the micro-rotor concept
April 1958 advertisement for the Büren Super Slender
Schweitzer Uhren Editionen Buren Calibre 82
A technical description of the original Microtor movement from 1958
1955 coverage of the launch of the Universal Polarouter in Europa Star
1961 obituary of Alexandre C. Baume, older brother of William Baume, who ran Baume & Co in London
Paul Tcherednitchenko worked for Haas Neveux in Geneva when he met William Baume
FOSC filing showing the exit of Baume and Mercier
Seiko SSA007 sports watch
A custom wristwatch using an ETA 6498 movement
1962 advertisement showing the Actina keychain watch, perhaps the only legacy of the firm
The new Actina logo is featured in this 1927 advertisement, a few years after the death of Charles Kilchenmann
1908 Kilchenmann frères advertisement showing a patented lacquered clock
Grail Watch poster in the style of classic EPSA supercompressor ad showing three colorful deep sea divers and ME under a watch case
May 10, 1897 trademark of “Amiga” by the Seeland Watch Co.
My laptop photographed in the library of the HSNY
1918 magazine article instructing jewelers on the proper decoration of their store for Halloween!
February 1886 trademark registration for Paul-D. Nardin, successeur de Ulysse Nardin
How a Chicago Jeweler Uses an Imported Auto to Advertise His Business The “Baby Peugeot” automobile that is parked in front of the Paul Jewelry Co., store in the Hotel Sherman and more often seen on the streets in the loop has caused considerable comment and enthusiasm among the citizens of Chicago. The baby Peugeot is a French imported car, has a four cylinder motor of six horsepower. It is equipped with bi-flex bumpers, shock absorbers, wind shield wings, wire wheels, has a little trunk on the rear and an extra wire wheel on the side. It is in blue and yellow duco finish with red leather seats. It is an exact reproduction of a large car, but only comes to a person's waist and weighs 700 pounds. Lettering appears on various places on the automobile. On the right side of the car the following lettering appears: "Yes, this car runs good, so do my watches. You must come over. Paul." On the opposite side, "Free delivery service, Paul, the Jeweler." The name of Paul appears on each of the wind shields. Across the hood of the car, appear these words: "Isn't this a little Gem. See my window for others. Paul Jewelry Store, 102 W. Randolph St., Hotel Sherman Corner." On the opposite side of the hood, "Small but reliable. That some day I'll get a big Car. Paul." On the trunk, in large type, appears "If this car grows like my business, it will be big some day. Paul." The miniature automobile is used for the purpose of delivery. The Paul Jewelry Co. has been in business for a great many years. It is operated by Paul Korshak.
1917 advertisement for Eska No. 3 8-day alarm clocks
Apple’s new supposed “regulator” watch face
Detail of carvings on Ross Bridge depicting Jörgen Jörgensen and Norah Corbett as a king and queen Image credit: Gary Houston
Newgate Prison around the time of Jörgensen’s confinement
The HMS Talbot was a Cormorant class ship-sloop
Jögensen’s Icelandic flag
Frederich Christopher Trampe, Count of Trampe
Jörgen Jörgensen in Denmark just before he invaded Iceland
October 7, 1809: “The first proclamation from Iceland by the English (written from Copenhagen) is dated June 21 and is very harsh, ordering the strictest house arrest of the Danish officials and merchants present. It is signed by a Jörgen Jörgensen, whose name, to his shame, suggests that he is a Dane.”
A 1929 newspaper mention of the funeral of Mrs. Dubois-Guinand, noting that her daughter is the “directrice de la fabrique Bulova.”
1927 advertisement for Philippe Dubois & Fils watchmakers
Circa 1820 watch signed DuBois & Company
March 18, 1885: “Houses that have the privilege of having a hundred years of life are quite rare; so we are happy to report a case of this kind that has just occurred in the watch industry. This is the house Ph. DuBois et fils, which has existed in Le Locle since 1785, in Frankfurt am Main since 1845, and which also had a branch in Amsterdam from 1807 to 1842. On the occasion of this anniversary, Messrs. DuBois and sons published an elegant address card, printed in several shades, of a completely artistic genre and a respectable format (0*.27 out of 0.35). In the center, we see in perspective, through an elegant window surmounted by the family's coat of arms, the house in which the Locle factory is installed. On the left, a noble father of 1785 who contemplates a watch that, by its dimensions, is quite reminiscent of our current clocks, while on the right, an elegant of 1885 looks at her tiny stopwatch if the time of the appointment has not soon arrived. At the bottom of the sheet, an old watchmaker, whose type is well known in our Mountains, works on his workbench. Congratulations to Messrs. DuBois and son and to the author of this ingenious composition.”
October 1, 1788 advertisement by Philippe Dubois of Le Locle. Translation: "A young man from Le Locle would like to work in a trading house, either in furniture, drapery, etc. He knows German and would not require much in the first few years. Contact Mr. Philippe Dubois, father and son, merchants, in Le Locle."
Enicar Sherpa Super Divette