Russian astronomical pocket watch solid silver case Circa 1900

Pocket watch with solid silver open faced case
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An oversized astronomical Russian pocket watch, made by Bernhard Friedrich Altschwager (1862–1931) in St. Petersburg, circa 1900. The watch has an extremely solid silver plain open faced case with a signed and numbered dust cover and factory glazing. The signed white enamel dial, of which the edge area under the bezel has been repaired, displays the date and the Russian day of the week, and it has red gold hands. The factory glazing ensures a crystal clear view on the movement with a stunning anchor chronometer escapement, which also features a particularly large balance wheel.
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Diameter: 79 mm
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Weight: 345 g
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Signed: B. Altschwager S^T Petersburg
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Bernhard Friedrich Altschwager was a German Russian engineer and inventor who lived in St. Petersburg during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. He owned a watch shop in St. Petersburg. His son Theodor Kröger (actually Bernhard Altschwager) did an apprenticeship as a watchmaker in Neuchâtel in 1913 and then returned to Russia, where he became a prisoner of war. Kröger became a very successful writer and described his experiences during the war. In his works, he criticized the negative side effects of the Russian Revolution from the point of view of a German citizen of the world.