Swiss 18K yellow gold full hunter pocket watch Circa 1905

Gold hunting cased keyless lever watch
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A fine Swiss 18 carat yellow gold full hunter pocket watch made by Invar (Achille Hirsch) in La Chaux-de-Fonds, circa 1905. It has a high grade mechanical crown winding gilded Swiss movement with a lever escapement, temperature compensated balance wheel, and precision regulator. The movement is signed and numbered. The white enamel dial features stylized black Arabic numerals for the hours, a fine outer minute track, a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, and blued steel Breguet style hands signed INVAR. The timepiece is housed in a round three body, 18 carat solid yellow gold full hunter case. It features fine engine turned engraving framed by hand chased Belle Époque style floral scrollwork and foliate decoration, a fluted winding crown, a sturdy round suspension bow, and a solid 18 carat gold inner protective cuvette.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 73.4 g
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Signed: Invar
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The white enamel dial has hairline defects; the Breguet hands show wear. It is fitted with a plexiglass crystal.
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Invar was a prestigious Swiss watch brand registered by master watchmaker Achille Hirsch in La Chaux-de-Fonds around the turn of the 20th century. The brand name celebrated Invar, an innovative nickel steel alloy with a low coefficient of thermal expansion, invented in 1896 by Swiss physicist Charles Édouard Guillaume, who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1920 for this discovery. Incorporating Invar alloys into hairsprings and balance wheels, Invar pocket watches achieved outstanding chronometric accuracy and resistance to temperature variations. Housed in a lavishly decorated Belle Époque 18K gold hunting case, this timepiece represents a fine synthesis of early 20th century Swiss decorative design and horological innovation.
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Belle Époque decor represents the elegant, luxurious, and optimistic interior style of the period between 1870 and 1914. Reflecting the wealth, artistic boom, and technological progress of European high society before WWI, this eclectic style strongly overlaps with Art Nouveau and incorporates elements of classic French palace design.