Swiss/English silver open faced chronograph watch Circa 1902

Silver open faced keyless lever chronograph
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A fine Swiss sterling silver open faced chronograph pocket watch made for the English market, retailed by S. Smith & Son in London, and made by Baume & Co. (Arthur Baume, Switzerland), circa 1902. It features a high grade mechanical keyless winding Swiss movement with a lever escapement, jewelled train, cut and compensated bimetallic balance wheel, and mirror polished steel levers for the column wheel chronograph mechanism activated by the side pusher and crown. The signed white enamel dial has black Roman numerals for the hours, an outer 1/5th second chronograph track, a tachymeter scale, a 30 minute recorder at 12 o’clock, a continuous subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, gold spade hands, and twin central blued steel seconds hands.
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The dial is signed: S. Smith & Son, 9 Strand, London / watchmakers to the Admiralty / non magnetisable. The timepiece is housed in a round open faced sterling silver case with a gilt winding crown and suspension bow. The reverse back cover is hand engraved with an ornate monogram centred on the date 1902. It is stamped internally with English sterling silver hallmarks and the maker’s mark AB for Arthur Baume. It comes with its fitted Moroccan leather presentation box stamped: The Watchmakers Alliance Ltd / 184 Oxford Street / London W.
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Diameter: 53 mm
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Signed: S. Smith & Son London
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It is officially a Swiss/English hybrid watch: a Swiss movement housed and sold in England. Technical (Origin): Swiss. The movement and the rattrapante complication were designed and built in Switzerland by Baume & Co. Commercial (Market): English. It was modified, hallmarked with British silver marks, signed, and sold by the English royal purveyor S. Smith & Son in London.
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S. Smith & Son (operating from 9 Strand, London) was one of Victorian and Edwardian Britain’s premier horological firms, famously appointed Watchmakers to the Admiralty. This chronograph, capable of measuring two overlapping events simultaneously, was built using top tier Swiss raw movements (ébauches) imported through Arthur Baume (Baume & Co.), one of London’s most prominent agents for Swiss precision watchmaking. The dial’s tachymetric scale and non magnetic balance catered directly to modern racing, scientific, and naval timing demands. Preserved in its original fitted presentation case from The Watchmakers Alliance Ltd, a retail enterprise closely connected to S. Smith & Son at 184 Oxford Street, this 1902 timepiece is a complete and historically rich example of turn of the century British presentation horology.