Lange&Söhne very early 14K 585 gold luxury Lepine men's pocket watch 1890 mechanical
This is a very rare and sought-after US export model!
At the turn of the century, there were extremely high tariffs in the USA on imports of luxury goods, but not on individual or spare parts
For this reason, many retailers, but also individual watch dealers, only ordered complete movements from Lange & Söhne without cases, dials and without crown (without original crown to emphasize the status "spare part" or "individual part"
In some cases, original Lange&Söhne dials and hands were ordered and delivered, but then unsigned to maintain the "spare part character" and were only assembled in the USA
At the time of writing this description, I have a fully signed Lange&Söhne / Felsing Berlin 14K gold pocket watch, movement number 55253, from around 1900: absolutely identical dimensions, absolutely identical dial, absolutely identical Roman numeral structure, and above all, absolutely identical hands, especially the minute hand, which widens and tapers towards the outside - absolutely typical for Lange&Söhne - thus forming a kind of "lance".
Presumably the dial and hands are also original Lange&Söhne, but the case and crown are definitely not.
The non-original Lange&Söhne case, the unsigned dial and the non-original Lange&Söhne crown are not defects and the original case was not melted down and the movement recased, so the export of a Lange&Söhne watch to the USA at the turn of the century
If one were to order an archive extract, this would be issued immediately with the note "only work without crown"
Description:
German watch manufacturer Glashütte, gold pocket watch, rare export model for the USA, guilloché 14-carat gold case with empty monogram cartouche and gold-plated inner lid
Unrestored, unsigned enamel dial (hairline crack between the "9" and the "10" - see photos) with Roman numerals, fine, blued Breguet-style hands and indirect second at the "6"
Case diameter: 47mm, total weight: 77g, inner movement cover gold-plated only, crown not original Lange&Söhne and not gold-plated, dial and hands possibly original Lange&Söhne
Fully signed, gold-plated ¾ plate movement No. 21337 with Glashütte precision lever escapement, gold lever and gold escape wheel with a screwed chaton, built around 1890
This magnificent piece of watch history starts and runs continuously (accuracy not tested).
On the inside of the outer lid, a possibly European hallmark was defaced, and "14K" was engraved by hand underneath. The 14-carat gold alloy of the case is also confirmed by the acid test.
EZ: 2 normal, noticeable signs of age and wear, dial unrestored in excellent condition with a barely noticeable hairline crack between the "9" and the "10", high-precision movement clean, all lids close tightly and flush, this magnificent artifact runs smoothly
