Swiss 18K gold hunting cased anker chronometer Circa 1923

Gold chronometer in Grade Very Best by Omega
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A very fine and extremely rare Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased luxury anker chronometer, circa 1923. Divided ¾ plate movement, a piston tooth lever escapement, caliber 43.15 p, Guillaume gold screw compensation balance and blued Breguet balance spring with two Phillips terminal curves. The gold cuvette is monogrammed JK. White enamel dial with Arabic hours, an outer minute track, a sunk center and subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock, blued hands. A Plain case. Dial signed Omega and Chronomètre in red, case numbered, movement signed and numbered.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 96 g
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Signed: Omega Watch Co Grade Very Best
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Omega only produced 600 examples of this exceptional caliber in a luxury version, of which 300 were open faced and 300 were hunting cased watches.
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Quality Grade Very Best. In July 1922, caliber 19” DDR from 1905 was replaced by caliber 43.15. Provided with 23 jewels, 18 in settings, 2 jewels at the barrel, negative pointer setting, an intermediate wheel on the fixed base plate, a Guillaume balance wheel with gold screws, Breguet hairspring with two Phillips terminal curves and an eccentric fine adjustment. Regulation in the positions and temperatures according to the limits set by the observatories and extremely careful manufacture of the individual parts in a luxury design.
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The watch comes from direct family ownership and belonged to Franz-Josef Kaiser (1901-1967), an entrepreneur and manufacturer in the Black Forest watch industry. Franz-Josef Kaiser was born the son of a watchmaker. His family had been involved in watchmaking since the late 18th century. After a technical and commercial apprenticeship, in 1918 he joined the Villinger watch factory, which was founded in 1852 as Gebrüder Meier and later became J. Kaiser Watches Villingen, and became managing partner. In 1923, he expanded the production program to include radio headphones and loudspeakers. The company was one of the largest watch manufacturers in Germany and was involved, among other things, in the Badische Uhrenfabrik (BADUF). In addition to supervisory board mandates, J. Kaiser was on the regional advisory board of Deutsche Bank for Baden and on the employers’ association. He was President of the Association of the Watch Industry, member of the Board of the Association of the German Metal Industry and Board Member of the Baden Employers’ Association Metal. He was involved in equestrian sports and in the promotion of horse breeding on a voluntary basis. In August 1953, he was awarded the Cross of Merit (Steckkreuz) of the Federal Republic of Germany for his services to equestrian sport and the German watch industry. The company he managed existed until 1972.