German 14k pink gold hunting cased keyless pocket watch Circa 1905

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Kenmerk
TA1675
Diameter
55 mm
Estimate
€ 7.500 - 20.000
Price sold
€ 19.350

Gold lever chronometer with Guillaume balance
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A very fine and extremely rare German, 14K pink gold keyless, hunting cased pocket lever chronometer with Guillaume balance, circa 1905. With a class 1 A Silver movement. A Lucia, solid, polished case, the front cover with an engraved monogram. Hinged gold cuvette. Three-piece, white enamel dial with dauphine numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary seconds. Gold Louis XVI hands. A Lange 3/4-plate, frosted, solid silver movement, 20 jewels in screwed gold chatons, straight line Lange lever escapement, gold escape wheel and pallet fork, nickel, steel and brass balance with gold temperature adjustment screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring, index regulator. Dial, case and movement signed.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Signed: Brinckmann & Lange  Bremen
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Brinckmann & Lange
Adolph Brinckmann was not a pocket watchmaker himself, but he co-founded Brinckmann & Lange, a highly prestigious jewellery and watch retailer in Bremen. In 1874, Adolph Brinckmann (1845–1926) paired up with Gerhard Lange (1858–1924) to establish the luxury retail store Brinckmann & Lange.
For a long time, historians believed their identical last names were just a coincidence, given that “Lange” is a common German surname. However, archival evidence presented in 2018 at the German Watch Museum in Glashütte successfully traced and proved a verified family connection between Gerhard Lange of Bremen and the family of Ferdinand Adolph Lange, the founder of A. Lange & Söhne.
Instead of manufacturing pocket watches in-house, they operated as premium retailers and official dealers for elite watch brands.  They notably acted as a primary distributor for high end luxury timepieces made by the famous manufacturer A. Lange & Söhne from Glashütte. During the German hyperinflation of 1923, they brokered sales using stable foreign currencies like Swiss Francs.
Today, the historic retail name lives on as an upscale brand under the German corporate jewellery group Christ Juweliere und Uhrmacher.

Why the Name Says “Uhrmacher” (Watchmakers)
It is common to look at their full historical name, Christ Juweliere und Uhrmacher seit 1863 and assume they were a watch factory. However, the term “Uhrmacher” was used for a different reason:

  • The Retail Workshop: In the 19th and early 20th centuries, luxury watch boutiques did not just sell pieces; they operated in house master workshops staffed by highly trained watchmakers.
  • Their Job: These watchmakers were responsible for regulating, servicing, adjusting and repairing the complex, delicate pocket watches brought in by customers or shipped from manufacturing hubs like Switzerland or Glashütte.
  • The “Christ” Brand Private Label: Over the years, Christ has put its own company name on watch dials. However, these have always been “private label” or “house brand” contracts. Christ designs the aesthetic or logo, but the entire physical assembly, movement building, and casing are outsourced to specialised third party factories.
Just like their sub brand Brinckmann & Lange, Christ has spent over 160 years acting as Germany’s premier distributor and servicer of fine timepieces rather than an independent watch manufacturer.

 

 

Signed: Brinckmann & Lange Bremen

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