Swiss 18K gold keyless lever Masonic pocket watch Circa 1940

Gold triangular Masonic watch
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A fine Swiss 18 carat gold triangular keyless lever Masonic pocket watch, circa 1940. The movement with a lever escapement. White enamel dial with multicoloured Masonic symbols for the numerals, an outer minute track with Arabic 20, 40 and 60, the motto Aime Ton Semblable Tends Lui Une Main Secourable (Love Your Fellow Man Lend Him A Helping Hand in English) in the lower half. The case is cast and engraved. Dial and movement signed, case signed and numbered.
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Dimensions: 52 x 53 mm
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Signed: Solvil Watch Co
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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 of which the timepieces were often signed Paul Ditisheim and Titus of 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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Freemasonry or Masonry is a worldwide spread and regionally structured fellowship that strives for spiritual and moral elevation, mutual appreciation and helping each other. It is a society with rituals. Its members are called Freemasons or Masons. They address each other as brother or sister. Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities and clients.