Russian gold full hunter Imperial presentation watch Circa 1890

Gold hunting cased pocket watch by Pavel Buhré
–
A Russian pink gold, enamel, keyless winding, imperial presentation watch with tsar’s eagle, circa 1890. Present offered by Czar Nicholas II. This watch features a rhodium plated movement with a lever escapement. It has a white enamel dial with Roman numerals for the hours, Arabic numerals for the minutes, seconds at 6 o’clock, and gold hands. (missing its glass). The guilloché 18 carat gold case is decorated on the front with the imperial eagle of the Romanoffs, nielloed with a blue enamel ribbon. Goldsmith’s mark: Paul Pavlovitch Buhré [1842-1892].
–
Diameter: 50 mm.
–
Weight: 97 g
–
Signed: Pavel Buhré, St. Petersburg
–
Pavel (Paul) Buhré, Russian master watchmaker
The firm was established by Carl Buhré in 1815 in St. Petersburg. His son Paul entered the business, and by 1874, the company had acquired a large watch factory in Le Locle, Switzerland. In 1899, the company was given the Imperial warrant to supply the Czar and his family with watches for themselves and for presentation. Between 1887 and 1917, the office of the Emperor bought around 15,000 watches, and the name of Pavel Buhré became synonymous with the watches of Czarist Russia; even Anton Chekhov mentions Buhré’s name several times in his literature. The Buhré company dominated the supply of watches to Russia and, at one time, held over 50% of the market in ordinary watches. The complicated watches for rich customers were specially ordered in Switzerland. The company won medals at National and International exhibitions, including a silver medal in Paris 1889 and a gold medal in Paris 1900. Czar Nicholas II wore a gold watch by Pavel Buhré and a silver marine watch, which was found amongst his possessions after his execution in 1917. The revolution effectively ended the business of Pavel Buhré, although the seized watches and parts continued to be used by the Soviets, including Stalin and Khrushchev.