Swiss 18K gold pocket watch for the Chinese market Circa 1910

Gold full hunter keyless cylinder watch
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A fine and rare Swiss 18 carat yellow gold octagonal full hunter pocket watch made by L. Vrard & Co in Tientsin for the Chinese market, dating from the late Qing or early Republic period. This distinctive timepiece features a mechanical crown winding movement with a gilt cylinder escapement. The white enamel dial shows black Roman numerals for the hours, an outer railway minute track with red Arabic five minute markers, a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, and fine steel hands. The watch is housed in an exceptional 18 carat solid yellow gold full hunter case of octagonal shape, with a deeply engraved floral and foliate scroll design on the outer covers, centring a vacant shield shaped cartouche. It also has a decorative inner gold cuvette signed L. Vrard & Co Tientsin, a fluted winding crown, and a sturdy round suspension bow.
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Diameter: 46 mm
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Weight:  37 g
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Signed: L. Vrard & Co Tientsin
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Vrard & Co Tientsin
The company began as a Swiss watchmaking and trading house, founded in Shanghai in 1860 under the name Laidrich & Vrard. It was established by Swiss watchmaker Édouard Laidrich and his French partner Louis Vrard. The firm started operating in Tientsin in 1862 and later opened branches in Shanghai and Peking. The company focused on the growing Chinese market and represented the Swiss manufacturer Bovet Fleurier. The watches were made in well known Swiss watchmaking regions such as Fleurier or Geneva. They were then imported and sold through the company’s offices in China. The prominent Tientsin marking inside the case shows the sales branch, not where the watch was made.