Swiss dress watch with French 100 Francs coin watch Circa 1915

Silver dress watch with gold coin watch by Paul Piguet-Capt
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An elegant Swiss gentleman’s dress watch with French 100 Francs gold coin watch Napoleon III Empereur, circa 1915.
Silver, polished case. Signed white enamel dial with radial Arabic numerals, outer minutes track, subsidiary dial for the seconds, and gold spade hands. Bridge movement, lever escapement, gold screw compensation balance, and counterpoised lever.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 90 g
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Signed: Paul Piguet-Capt, Brassus
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The heavy gold coin watch dating from the Second Empire was engraved by Albert Désiré Barre. He was the second main engraver at the French Mint after his father Jacques-Jean; he held the position from 1855 until his death in 1878 and was succeeded by another member of the Barre family his brother Jean-Auguste.
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Paul Piguet-Capt, Swiss watch manufacture
The Paul Piguet-Capt company was founded by Paul Justin Louis Piguet in 1890 at Le Brassus . Paul Piguet married Marie Élise Capt on September 25, 1889 in Vallorbe. So, the name Piguet-Capt came about and was used in the company name. First his shop was on the second floor in “Chez Cliba”, a house of the Meylan family, where he sold silver as well as watches. He later moved the business to the centre of Le Brassus. In 1825, he moved his studio to a building near the post office and the shop was located between Route de France and Rue du Rocher.
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Daughter Henriette Eugénie Piguet (19 Nov. 1893 – 12 Dec. 1984) was married to the watchmaker Alfred Émile Aubert, a son of Léon-Ernest Aubert. His son Clément Émile Gustave Piguet took over the shop in 1928, but he was an optician. Son-in-law Alfred Émile Aubert took over the watch production. The company existed until 1971.