Watches in which the oscillating balance is visible on the dial are not a modern phenomenon. This already existed in pocket watches more than 120 years ago. As an example, I am presenting a pocket watch from the Honestus brand here, whose history is quite interesting.
In May 1898, Ernest Degoumois from St. Imier received the Swiss patent CH16598 with the title Montre de hauteur minime, avec balancier visible (watch with minimal height and visible balance). However, the watch shown there has only a limited visual connection with the watch shown above!
Precisely this Swiss patent number is hallmarked on the bridge side of the Honestus movement:
Together with the number of the German patent DE140330. The 33 is unfortunately not legible on my specimen, but is legible on other specimens. However, this patent from 1902 is not issued to Ernest Degoumois, but to Jean Kullmer Fils from La Chaux-de-Fonds in Switzerland. It bears the German title Taschenuhr mit sichtbarer Unruhe (pocket watch with visible balance).
The first section of this patent refers to an underlying Swiss patent CH22532 from 1901 entitled Perfectionnement aux montres à balancier visible (Improvement to watches with visible balance). This one is issued to Jean Kullmer too.
Both Kullmer patents describe the watch shown here, and its movement. The distinctive feature is the balance, which can be removed if necessary without removing the hands and dial.
Kullmer also actively advertised his Honestus brand watch, for example in La Fédération Horlogère Suisse in 1902:
Kullmer registered the Honestus trademark already in September 1901 under the number 13855 in the Swiss Offical Gazette of Commerce:
So what did Degoumois and Kullmer have to do with each other?
Obviously nothing pleasant at first! On January 9, 1903, Kullmer made the following declaration in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce:
Declaration.
As a result of the counterfeiting lawsuit brought against me by Mr. Ernest Degoumois, watch manufacturer in St-Imier, I, J. Kullmer fils, watch manufacturer in La Chaux-de-Fonds, hereby inform the parties that I had to purchase and pay for a license from him for his patent no. 16,598 in order to continue the manufacture of the watch “Honestus”, extra-flat, with visible balance.
According to this agreement, the two companies mentioned above will sue any imitator of patent no. 16,598.
Consequently, from 1903 onwards Kullmer also warned in his advertisements that he would take legal action against the misuse of his Honestus brand:
This advertisement is also interesting for another reason. In contrast to the older advertisement, it shows four different versions of the Honestus watch with a visible balance:
- A variant with a movement height of 5.36 mm (top left)
- A variant with a movement height of 4.20 mm (top right)
- A variant with center seconds (bottom left)
- A variant in which the balance is at right angles to the winding stem (bottom right). So there are two versions of the movement. More on this in a moment…
In 1904, a new company suddenly appeared in advertisements promoting Honestus and Nectar watches: Breguet & Cie from La Chaux-de-Fonds:
Is it a plagiarism? Or did Kullmer sell the brand and Breguet did also acquire a license from Degoumois? As is so often the case, an entry in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce provides a clue:
Léon Breguet and Jean Kullmer founded the company Breguet & Cie together on October 5, 1903. The fact that only Breguet appears in the company name could indicate that Kullmer had run into financial difficulties and therefore had to enter into this partnership. However, the new company was liquidated again on October 5, 1906 under the management of Jean Kullmer.
So we have the history of the Honestus brand sorted out. But who made the movements? It was neither Degoumois nor Kullmer nor Breguet, but Charles Hahn!
Charles Hahn registered the movement shown above on November 29, 1901 in the Swiss Official Gazette of Commerce as Model No. 4. Model No. 4 is not an official caliber designation, but was used to register the design.
This was followed on November 24, 1902 by the registration of a movement model no. 2 by Charles Hahn. At first glance, it looks identical to model no. 4 registered in 1901, but at second glance it looks more like a mirror image of model no. 4!
Model no. 4 from 1901 is the Savonnette version of the movement. In a classic pocket watch, this refers to a movement in which the winding stem and the small seconds are at an angle of 90 degrees to each other. The watch shown above does not have small seconds, but it does have a fourth wheel (four the seconds) in the corresponding position!
Model no. 2 from 1902 is the Lépine version of the movement. Here, the winding stem and the small seconds are on a straight line.
You can find more information on the subject of Lépine and Savonnette here: Calibers and Lines – What’s that?
Since the visible balance wheel of the Honestus watches occupies the typical position of the small seconds, the Lépine version looks like a Savonnette at first glance and vice versa!
To finish, a short video of the running pocket watch: