Extremely rare German gold quality 1A precision watch Circa 1867

Gold full hunter Adolf Schneider
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An extremely rare and early 18 carat gold hunting cased quality 1A Glashütte precision pocket watch, circa 1867. 2/3 Plate movement, a piston tooth lever escapement and gold screw compensation balance. A cuvette engraved with the technical details. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track, sunk subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and spade & whip hands. A, probably later made, plain case. Cuvette signed and numbered, case numbered.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 119 g
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Signed: A. Schneider Glashütte
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This timepiece is one of the few best-known pocket watches from Adolf Schneider. According to records of the Glashütte expert Hans-Georg Donner, the number, the 2/3 plate used for the movement and the lack of a sunburst finish on the winding wheels suggest that the watch is dated between 1865 and 1869. According to the latest results of the Glashütte watch researcher Jürgen Peter, the present pocket watch with serial number 1678 is the earliest known watch signed by Schneider before the introduction of the three-quarter plate. Unfortunately, Schneider did not sign his watches for the first 13 years. In 1867, A. Lange & Söhne introduced the three-quarter plate which was also used by other watchmakers. Until Schneider used the three-quarter plate in 1867, he probably only made 700 watches. This watch can thus be dated to the production year 1867. The lowest serial number with a three-quarter plate from Schneider so far is No. 1725, so there is a production period of about 1678 to 1725.

Friedrich August Adolf Schneider was born in Dresden, Germany, in 1824. In 1840, Schneider began his apprenticeship with Gutkaes. A friend of Adolph Lange, who later became his brother-in-law, he decided to go to Glashütte with him in 1845 to help him set up his watch production as a foreman. Schneider impressed with his performance, so A. Lange gave him a larger range of tasks. Until the beginning of 1855, Schneider was employed by the Lange company as a foreman, or according to A. Lange as managing director. In 1855, Schneider decided to become self employed and founded his own watch factory. In the beginning he still made pocket watches with key winding, but from 1865 with crown winding, when Lange’s patented crown winding was introduced. Schneider exported many watches to the USA, official representative of his pocket watches was Max Freund & Co. in New York. After Schneider’s sudden death in 1878, his son Woldemar continued to run the company until 1893.