Danish/Swiss 18K gold hunting cased lever watch Circa 1849

Gold captain’s watch by Jules Jürgensen
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An extremely rare Danish/Swiss 18 carat gold hunting cased lever captain’s watch with two time zones and independent stoppable centre seconds, circa 1849. Bridge movement, key wind, two barrels, a club-tooth lever escapement by Jules Jürgensen and gold screw compensation balance. The gold cuvette engraved R.M. Funkhouser. White enamel dial, indication of time at 3 and 9 o’clock with Roman hours, outer minute divisions and moon hands, subsidiary seconds at 6, an outermost minute track with Arabic five-minute numerals. An engine-turned, monogrammed case with maker’s mark JJ, a small button in the band at 12 o’clock to start and stop the independent centre seconds hand. Dial signed, case and movement numbered.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 127 g
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Signed: Jules Jürgensen Copenhagen
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Dr Robert Monroe Funkhouser was a prominent St. Louis businessman. He was the president of the Chamber of Commerce at one point and one of the directors of the Gas Consumers Company of St. Louis. He operated multiple businesses from St. Louis to New York.
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Jules Frédéric Jürgensen was born in 1808 and died in 1877. He was the son of Urban Jürgensen and a very eminent watchmaker himself. Jules was born in Le Locle, Switzerland but as a child moved to Denmark with his parents. In 1830, after his father’s death, the company was taken over by Jules and his brother Louis Urban. In 1833, Jules returned to Le Locle and built up a successful business. Jürgensen, who was watchmaker to the King of Denmark, was made a Knight of the Légion d’Honneur and Knight of the Royal Order of Dannebrog. Between 1870 and 1876 he was a member of the commission of surveillance of the Geneva School of Horology, along with Ekegren, Potter and others. He further was a member of many commissions in Switzerland judging horological contests. He stamped most of his watches on the pillar plate under the dial ‘Jules Jürgensen of Copenhagen’.

Jürgensen invented his bow-setting mechanism in 1867. He wanted to prevent any accidental changing of the watch setting. In his design, the cover had to be opened to turn the bow far enough to engage the setting pin. In some of his watches, he did not want the back cover, which was not spring-loaded, to be opened by the owner. Therefore, for his watches with an open face, he used a special case in which the front was designed with a bezel utilizing a lifting mechanism like that in a hunting case. The setting could be done safely, by first opening the front by pushing on the stem, turning the bow until it touched the crystal and then setting the watch. After his death, the business was continued by his brother and in 1886 it was sold to an employee, H. Kiens, whose sons Jules (1837-1894) and Jacques Alfred (1842-1912) continued the business, as did the House of Heuer afterwards.