Info wanted: Borel & Courvoisier Neuchatel pocket watch

[George Leppla]

My wife has inherited a pocketwatch and I am wondering if someone can tell
me anything about it. Here is the info:

Borel & Courvoisier Neuchatel
inside the face cover it says G&K and then NY 17962 There is a square mark
of some kind

This info is repeated inside the first back cover. There is also hand
engraved "MA 362" and the number 300537.

Inside the third cover is again 17962 over an oval mark. The numbers appear
to have been originally red.

On the works it is written "Borel & Courvoisier N56853" "Neuchatel" and
there is a trade mark that is B C vertically on a shield.

The watch appears to be silver and is not very ornate with a plain design on
the face cover. There is the number "4" embossed in the winding stem.

The watch is in it's original box which appears to be leather lined in a
blue material.

The face is white with Roman Numerals and there is a face for counting
seconds in the 6 o'clock position.

General condition is good. The face, hands and second hand are all there and
the crystal is intact and clear. It does run but I don't know how to wind it
and I am not going to play with it until I understand how it works better.

Any information you might have about this watch or where I might get it
examined, cleaned, serviced and appraised would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for any help...

George in PA
geo...@cruisemaster.com

[Jack Denver]

The Ernest Borel firm still exists - perhaps they could tell you more.

"George Leppla" <geo...@cruisemaster.com> wrote in message
news:EZOdnfZ9xJ4...@comcast.com...

[Revision]

A small amount of hitorical info.
http://www.joseph-watches.com/pages_int/know_how/pages_brand_info/borel.htm

When Jules Borel and his brother-inlaw Paul Courvoisier teamed up as
Borel & Courvoisier in Neuchatel in 1859, they had the whole world in
their sights as the market for their timepieces. In their first year of
business they were already in contact with an agent in New York. They
also had other clients in Hamburg, London, La Plata and Odessa.

For their simple watches for women and men they used 14, 15 and 19-ligne
calibers, which they obtained during their first years from various
manufacturers, including the French firm Japy Freres. The more
prestigious watches were fitted with movements from Girard-Perregaux and
Aubert.

A Borel chronometer won the timing competitions at the Neuchatel
observatory as early as 1866. This was followed by similar prizes. In
1894 Paul Courvoisier retired for health reasons, and in 1898 Jules Borel
died, whereupon his son Ernest took over the helm. In 1899 the company
was named Ernest Borel & Cie.

The Hermes brand, whose accompanying symbol was a winged helmet, had been
adopted for movements, watch and presentation cases since 1895. In
addition, Ernest Borel registered the "Union" name in 1910.

When he retired in 1936, the management passed on to his son, Jean-Louis
Borel, who naturally kept up the already well established company name.

In the 1940s the Borel collection comprised wristwatches of the most
varied types self-winding models, chronographs and calendars. Official
statistics in 1946 showed Ernest Borel as the second largest producer of
officially tested wrist-chronometers. Interesting postwar watches
included the 1946 "Rendez-vous" model which unfailingly reminded one of
appointments by prodding the wrist with a tiny finger;

[Also notable were the] 1953 "Cocktail" model with its kaleidoscopic
dial, and the 1958 "Flash", which had an electrically lit dial. Borel was
taken over by Aubry Freres in 1978.

[Jack Denver]

Comments interspersed below:

"Revision" <fa...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:1088p9o...@corp.supernews.com...

> A small amount of hitorical info.
>
http://www.joseph-watches.com/pages_int/know_how/pages_brand_info/borel.htm
>
> When Jules Borel and his brother-inlaw Paul Courvoisier teamed up as
> Borel & Courvoisier in Neuchatel in 1859, they had the whole world in
> their sights as the market for their timepieces. In their first year of
> business they were already in contact with an agent in New York. They
> also had other clients in Hamburg, London, La Plata and Odessa.

I understand they also made watches for the China market.
http://www.rawbw.com/~hbv/horology/chinese.html

What's interesting is that Western watches were in high demand as prestige
and decorative items even though they were not really useful since their
timekeeping system did not accord with the Chinese traditional timekeeping
system.

>
> For their simple watches for women and men they used 14, 15 and 19-ligne
> calibers, which they obtained during their first years from various
> manufacturers, including the French firm Japy Freres. The more
> prestigious watches were fitted with movements from Girard-Perregaux and
> Aubert.
>
> A Borel chronometer won the timing competitions at the Neuchatel
> observatory as early as 1866. This was followed by similar prizes. In
> 1894 Paul Courvoisier retired for health reasons,

This would imply that the subject watch is earlier than that date.

and in 1898 Jules Borel
> died, whereupon his son Ernest took over the helm. In 1899 the company
> was named Ernest Borel & Cie.
>
> The Hermes brand, whose accompanying symbol was a winged helmet, had been
> adopted for movements, watch and presentation cases since 1895. In
> addition, Ernest Borel registered the "Union" name in 1910.
>
> When he retired in 1936, the management passed on to his son, Jean-Louis
> Borel, who naturally kept up the already well established company name.
>
> In the 1940s the Borel collection comprised wristwatches of the most
> varied types self-winding models, chronographs and calendars. Official
> statistics in 1946 showed Ernest Borel as the second largest producer of
> officially tested wrist-chronometers.

I wonder who was #1 at that time? I'm guessing Omega. The post-war rise of
Rolex, especially in the US market where they were virtually unknown, is
nothing short of amazing. Rolex could barely sell in the US prewar because
Gruen had an exclusive on the output of the Aegler factory in the US
market. Aegler produced many of the prewar Rolex movements such as the
"doctor's watch". The virtual collapse of the US watch industry in the 50s
opened the door wide for Rolex. As near as I can tell, WWII war production
work distracted the US industry and after getting those fat defense
contracts the thought of going back to the hard slog of selling watches 1 at
a time was unappealing. Also Timex seized the low end market for itself
almost overnight and many consumers decided that a cheap watch was good
enough for them and there was no need to spend a week's pay on a good watch.

Interesting postwar watches
> included the 1946 "Rendez-vous" model which unfailingly reminded one of
> appointments by prodding the wrist with a tiny finger;
>
> [Also notable were the] 1953 "Cocktail" model with its kaleidoscopic
> dial, and the 1958 "Flash", which had an electrically lit dial. Borel was
> taken over by Aubry Freres in 1978.

I assume their current fate is to sell relabeled ETAs, the same as everyone
else.

>
>
>

[Kent Betts]

This Japy Freres watch c. 1900 may have the same movement as the Borel.

http://www.geocities.com/kent_betts2000/p34.html

[GT]

"George Leppla" <geo...@cruisemaster.com> a écrit dans le message de
news:EZOdnfZ9xJ4...@comcast.com...

> My wife has inherited a pocketwatch and I am wondering if someone can tell
> me anything about it. Here is the info:
>
> Borel & Courvoisier Neuchatel

I confirm there is a company called Ernest Borel in La Chaux-de-Fonds (which
belongs to Neuchātel county).

http://rc.ne.ch/extrcomp.asp?nodos=02676%2F1996

--
Best Regards
G. Tarantino
Switzerland
Baume & Mercier Capeland S XXL 1000m