Swiss deck chronometer with 52h power reserve Circa 1920

Deck chronometer in mahogany box
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A rare Swiss deck chronometer with 52 hour power reserve, center seconds and an external hand setting device in a mahogany box made by Paul Ditisheim in La Chaux-de-Fonds, circa 1920. Brass movement, ∅ 61 mm, spring detent escapement and gold screw Guillaume compensation balance. Silvered dial with outer second markers, Arabic ten second numerals, a subsidiary dial at 6 o’clock with Roman hours, an outer minute track and Arabic five minute numerals, inner 24 hour indication, makers mark P.D., power reserve indicator at 12 and blued hands. Dial numbered and signed specially made for West End Watch Co Bombay Geneva Calcutta Swiss made, movement signed and numbered.
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Dimensions: 185 x 130 x 185 mm
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Signed: specially made for West End Watch Co Bombay Geneva Calcutta Swiss made
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Paul Ditisheim was born in 1868 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, the historic birthplace of the watchmaking industry, into the small social circle of industrialist families that led the Swiss watch industry of the time. He was a member of the well-known Ditisheim family, the founders and owners of Vulcain. A watch brand enjoyed by American presidents Dwight Eisenhower, Harry Truman, Richard Nixon and Lyndon Johnson.

Paul did his apprenticeship at the watchmaking school in La Chaux-de-Fonds, before working in Ponts-de-Martel, Berlin, Paris and Rotherham near Coventry. He worked at his family’s company until 1892, when he opened his own workshop and founded the brands Solvil, for which the timepieces were often signed Paul Ditisheim and Titus, for which the watches were generally marked separately.

Ditisheim was one of the most famous makers of watches and chronometers, who did most of his research and his publications in the field of precision timekeeping. He also worked closely with Physics Nobel prize winner Charles-Edouard Guillaume and has been considered the father of modern chronometers. He presented his watches in many exhibitions.

Paul Ditisheim died in 1945, leaving a legacy of technical excellence and design that has renewed the reputation of Swiss Made.
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The brand West End Watch Co was founded in 1886. The first watches were manufactured by Alcide Droz & Sons for the Indian market. During the First World War, the company’s first wristwatches were produced for soldiers in the British Army and the watches gained a legendary reputation in the Middle East. In 1917, Société des Montres West End SA was registered in Geneva. West End Watch Co is the first manufacturer to use the revolutionary Incabloc® shock protection invented by Georges Braunschweig in 1934.