Swiss gold hunting cased minute repeating lever Circa 1910

Watch with engraved representation of brown coal mine N.V. Louisegroeve
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A fine, rare and unusual Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased minute repeating keyless lever watch, circa 1910. Jeweled lever movement, bimetallic compensation balance, wolf’s tooth winding, minute repeating on two hammers onto two gongs. Gold cuvette with engraved inscription Souvenir aan Graetheide 1921 – 1927. White enamel dial with Breguet numerals and subsidiary seconds. Engine turned case back centred by engraved initials JS, engraved representation of the brown coal mine N.V. Louisegroeve in Graetheide (Limburg, Holland) to the front, repeating slide in the band. Case stamped and numbered, cuvette signed and numbered, movement signed and numbered, dial signed. Comes with original certificate and box.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Signed: Patek Philippe & Cie Genève
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The original owner of this watch was the general manager of the brown coal mining company N.V. Louisegroeve in Graetheide, Limburg, a province of the Netherlands. The two mines were called Louise I and Louise II, named after his only daughter Louise, and in full exploitation from 1917 until their closure in 1921. Following the end of World War I and the shortage of fuel, coal was particularly in demand, its limited supplies rendering it very expensive. The entire production was sold to the Dutch Government who in return resold it to their customers.
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According to family tradition, the engraved inscription “Souvenir aan Graetheide 1921 – 1927” on the cuvette of the watch refers to the lawsuit the first owner filed in 1921 against the Dutch Government, following the discovery that the price paid by the latter for the coal was much inferior to the resale price. The lawsuit was finally settled in 1927, he received an important compensation and decided to order a total of five watches from J. Bornefeld in Den Haag, Patek Philippe’s retailer at the time, presumably all embellished with engraved representations of the mines.