Swiss nickel Russian Navy watch with chatelaine Circa 1915

Russian Navy split seconds chronograph
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A rare Russian Navy split seconds chronograph, made by Henry Moser in St. Petersburg, Russia, circa 1915. The numbered case of this watch is crafted from nickel, has a Moser case punch and is marked Russian Navy on the back. The white enamel dial has Arabic hour numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock, a 30 minutes counter at 12 o’clock and blued spade hands. The movement has a very fine precision lever escapement and a chronograph rattrapante.
Case and cuvette have matching numbers and the dial and cuvette are signed.
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Diameter: 52 mm
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Weight: 105 g
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Signed: H^Y Moser & C^IE
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The watch comes in an original box from W. Köhler, Schwabacherstraße 23, Fürth, Germany and a military chatelaine with two Russian coins from 1916 and a bullet.
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Henry Moser & Cie
Moser & Cie is a trademark of Moser Schaffhausen AG, a Swiss luxury watch manufacturer. The original H. Moser & Cie was founded in 1828 by the independent watchmaker Heinrich Moser in St. Petersburg, Russia. He became watchmaker in the service of the Russian Tsarist family, notable early clients included the Russian princes and members of the Russian Imperial Court. Vladimir Lenin also owned a Moser watch. After Moser died in 1874, the company was sold and its business in Russia was dispossessed in 1918 due to the October Revolution.

In 1953, H. Moser & Cie continued its business in Le Locle, Switzerland where it shifted its focus from pocket watches to wristwatches. Due to the quartz crisis, H. Moser & Cie became a part of the Dixi Mechanique Group and the original brand name was dropped. In 2002, Moser Schaffhausen AG was founded by Dr Jürgen Lange together with Heinrich Moser’s great-grandson Roger Nicholas Balsiger and the brand H. Moser & Cie was formally relaunched in 2005. Since 2012, Moser Schaffhausen AG has been a subsidiary of the MELB Holding Group of the Meylan family in Switzerland.