Weill & Co. Carillon Grande Sonnerie Minute Repeating Pocket Watch
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
Early 20th century
This early 20th-century Swiss pocket watch functions as a Grande Sonnerie clockwatch with a carillon minute repeater, featuring a movement that sounds the hours and quarters automatically, alongside a minute-repeating function activated by a push-piece.
The watch is housed in an 18-karat gold full hunter case that includes an internal cuvette. The white enamel dial is signed "Weill & Co." and displays Arabic numerals, blue steel hands, and a subsidiary seconds dial. A side lever at the 2 o'clock position allows for the selection between "Chime" and "Silence" modes. The gold-plated, three-quarter plate, keyless-wind movement incorporates two separate mainsprings for the time and striking trains, wound by the crown in both directions.
The mechanism includes a compensated balance with a blue steel overcoil hairspring, polished steel regulator, and a club-foot lever escapement with jeweled endstones.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Technical characteristics
- Dial
- White enamel, restored
- Type
- Repeating watch
- Maker
- Weill & Co.
- Country
- Switzerland
- Case material
- 18-karat gold
- Complications
- Grande Sonnerie, Carillon minute repeater
- Control lever
- Chime/Silence selector at 2 o'clock
- Movement type
- Keyless-wind, three-quarter plate
- Place recorded
- Switzerland
- Maker / attribution
- LW (Weill & Co. listed as retailer/distributor)
Design
- Case and Dial
- The watch features a full hunter case crafted from 18-karat gold. The exterior provides a plain, polished finish, while the interior is equipped with an internal cuvette covering the movement. The case includes an integrated loop for a watch chain. The white enamel dial, reported as restored, features a traditional layout with black Arabic numerals for the hours. It includes a subsidiary seconds register positioned at the 6 o'clock mark and utilizes blue steel hands for time indication. The dial is signed "Weill & Co.", identifying the distributor or commissioning entity.
- Visible features
- • Side lever at 2 o'clock marked 'Chime' and 'Silence' • Push-piece on the case band at 6 o'clock • Dial signed 'Weill & Co.' • Full hunter case with 18k gold construction
- Signatures and Markings
- The watch bears a specific maker's mark consisting of the letters "LW" enclosed within a rectangular border. While the dial is clearly marked with the name "Weill & Co.", these two identifiers delineate the relationship between the retailing brand and the manufacturing entity. The watch is attributed to Swiss manufacture during the early 20th century, consistent with the construction details observed in the gold-plated, high-complication horological movements of that period.
- Movement and Complications
- The internal mechanism is a gold-plated, three-quarter plate movement designed for keyless winding. The caliber is powered by two independent mainsprings—one dedicated to the timekeeping gear train and another reserved for the Grande Sonnerie striking system—which are tensioned by rotating the crown in both directions. The escapement is a club-foot lever type, supported by a compensated balance wheel with a blue steel overcoil hairspring and jeweled endstones for the pallet arbor. The striking complications consist of a Grande Sonnerie that automatically sounds the hours and quarters every fifteen minutes on three polished steel gongs. A minute-repeating function is also present, which, when triggered by a push-piece on the case band at the 6 o'clock position, provides a chiming indication of the current time on demand. A selector lever located at 2 o'clock allows the user to switch the striking functionality between "Chime" and "Silence" modes.
Identification
- Source note
- Facts transcribed from the linked source listing or collection record. Attribution and specifications are source-reported and have not been independently authenticated.
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: The dial is described as having been restored.
- Research required: The maker mark 'LW' is noted as present, but its relationship to 'Weill & Co.' is not further defined.