Swiss 18k gold open faced precision lever watch Circa 1860

Gold precision watch by Auguste Saltzman
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A Swiss 18 carat gold open faced precision pocket watch, circa 1860. Nickel plated, decorated 2/3 plate movement with exceptionally unusual construction from the Swiss watchmaker Auguste Saltzman, La Chaux-de-Fonds, keywind, bimetallic screwed compensation balance, patented asymmetric anchor escapement (1859),  straight line lever, gold ratchet wheel with rubies, visible ruby stones. White enamel dial, Roman numerals, small second, pierced blued hands, signed. Guilloché case with rimmed center section, à goutte. Engraved gold cuvette: Manufactured especially for James Sanders Schenectady NY. Accompanied by the original mahogany wooden box.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 123 g
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Signed: Auguste Saltzman Chaux-de-Fonds Improved Straight Line Lever
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Literature: Swiss Timepiece Makers 1775 – 1975, Kathleen H. Pritchard, ISBN 0914659790.
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Auguste Napoleon Saltzman was born on October 11, 1810 in Switzerland. He emigrated to Carthage New York. Saltzman was sent to Switzerland in 1827 to study watchmaking. In 1840, he opened a watchmaking shop in State Street, Carthage. Around 1845/46 he moved to New York.
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In New York Auguste founded the firm A. N. Saltzman & Co., here the paths of Charles Edouard Jacot and Auguste N. Saltzman crossed. Charles Edouard Jacot worked with his uncle Louis Matthey in New York since 1837 , together they founded Jacot & Courvoisier in 1839. Later – most likely in the early 1850s – Auguste N. Saltzman changed the watch market with a ‘Saltzman Swiss Watch’. Imported watches, Auguste N. Saltzman, signed with ‘Auguste Saltzman’, ‘V. Vuillaume’ and ‘Albert Vuille’.