Swiss railroad watch “Contetout” with chronograph Circa 1920

Gold open faced pocket watch by Reymond J. & Fils
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A fine, extremely rare Swiss railroad precision pocket watch “Contetout” with chronograph, circa 1920. Made for the Ferrocarril de Antioquia, Medellin, Columbia, one of the most important railroad engineering projects in Colombian history.
18 carat gold engine turned case and gold dome with dedication engraving. Signed enamel dial with Arabic numerals, subsidiary dial for the constant seconds, subsidiary dial for 12h counter at “12”, blued spade hands and centre chronograph hand. 2/3 plate movement, rhodium-plated, “fausses côtes” decoration, finely ground, bevelled chronograph steel parts, “Patent 71222”, screw compensation balance, blued balance spring, index spring fine adjusting device.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 97 g
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Signed: Ferrocarril, Antioquia
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John Reymond was born on February 19, 1867 in Les Bioux, parish. L’Abbaye born. He was the son of Henri Reymond and Adélaïde Golay. John married Zélie Guignard, a daughter of the watchmaker Ami Guignard from Ballaigues.
From this marriage of John and Zélie, the sons Marius Reymond and Arnold Reymond were born, who later became successors in watchmaking.
With his brother Charles Reymond, John opened the Reymond Frères watch workshop in Les Bioux in 1901. In 1910 the brothers took over the buildings of the Val-de-Joux Watch Co. The company J. Reymond & Fils used Contetout as the brand name. The company was renamed Reymond Frères in 1925 with owners as John, Marius, and Arnold Reymond, Charles E. Rochat and Hector Golay . Brother Charles Reymond and his son Lucien Henri then founded Contetout Watch Co. in Vers-chez-Grosjean (Le Sentier). Both companies were specialized inAll types of chronographs contributed to the company’s success. From 1929 the sons Marius and Arnold ran the company and manufactured watch movements for luxury brands under the new name Valjoux SA . In 1947 the company employed around 300 people. In 1944 , Valjoux SA was forced to establish a connection with Ebauches SA , which bought the business in 1965.
John Reymond was a municipal councilor and administrator of the Les Bioux district. He died on October 27, 1950 in Les Bioux.