Rare and unusual Swiss gold suit of armour form watch Circa 1890

Gold form watch with seal by Henry Moser & Cie.
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A rare and unusual Swiss gold form watch in the shape of a suit of armour with an armourial seal to the base, circa 1890. This watch features a nickel movement with lever escapement and a bimetallic compensation balance. The dial is white enamel with Roman numerals, an outer minute ring, and blued steel moon hands, signed Hy Moser & Cie. The case is made of gold in the form of a suit of armour, with the breastplate featuring a plaque chased and engraved with the Madonna & Child and the legend Krolowa Kor Polskiej. The belt is of semi-translucent blue enamel, and the base has a seal engraved with a coat of arms. The armour can be opened by depressing the crown, and the hand adjustment is pin-set at the right of the stem. The base above the seal bears the maker’s stamp AS in a square cartouche.
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Dimension: 33.5 x 62 mm
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Signed: Hy Moser & Cie.
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The movement is running smoothly, and the hands are correctly set. The dial appears to be in good condition, and the case is generally in good overall condition, although the two gold screws securing the seal base are somewhat damaged. The case opening mechanism is working well, but there are some small chips and losses to the blue enamel band.
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Moser & Cie is a trademark of Moser Schaffhausen AG, a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer. The original H. Moser & Cie was founded in 1828 by the independent watchmaker Heinrich Moser in St. Petersburg, Russia. Notable early clients included the Russian princes and members of the Russian Imperial Court. Vladimir Lenin also owned a Moser watch. After Moser died in 1874, the company was sold and its business in Russia was dispossessed in 1918 due to the October Revolution.
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In 1953, H. Moser & Cie continued its business in Le Locle, Switzerland where it shifted its focus from pocket watches to wristwatches. Due to the quartz crisis, H. Moser & Cie became a part of the Dixi Mechanique Group and the original brand name was dropped. In 2002, Moser Schaffhausen AG was founded by Dr Jürgen Lange together with Heinrich Moser’s great-grandson Roger Nicholas Balsiger and the brand H. Moser & Cie was formally re-launched in 2005. Since 2012, Moser Schaffhausen AG has been a subsidiary of the MELB Holding Group of the Meylan family in Switzerland.