Swiss silver pocket watch for the Chinese market Circa 1890

Silver center seconds lever watch 
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A Swiss silver key wind open faced lever pocket watch with center seconds made for the Chinese market by Levy Hermanos in Fleurier, circa 1880-1900. The polished case stamped with prestige hallmarks imitating the London date letter J for 1844. White enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track with fifth of second divisions, outermost Arabic quarter hour numerals and blued steel hands. Gilded brass movement engraved in Chinese style, a going barrel, lateral lever escapement, polished steel index regulator, monometallic balance with poising screws and blued steel flat hairspring.
A signature on the case.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Weight: 95 g
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Signed: Levy Hermanos
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British hallmarks were sometimes faked or imitated, especially in the 18th and early 19th centuries, when English watchmaking was known as the very best in the world. Marks resembling British hallmarks were punched into watch cases to make people think that a watch was of English manufacture. Sometimes, pseudo hallmarks, marks that were meant to look somewhat like hallmarks without trying to be out-and-out fake hallmarks, were stamped to make a case look more impressive.
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The Philippine watchmaking company Levy Hermanos (Levy Brothers) was founded by Adolphe (1849-1888), Charles (1854-1899) and Raphaël, sons of merchant Nathan Moïse Lévy (1813-1892) and Louise Blum (1819-1895). During the 1870 Franco-German War, the brothers fled from their native village, Marckolsheim in the Alsace-Lorraine region, France, via San Francisco in California, U.S.A., to Iloilo, Western Visayas in the Philippines. When they arrived in 1873, they were among the first Jewish families in the Philippines. Adolphe died of cholera in Manila on June 13, 1888.
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At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, the company was active in Manila, Singapore and Paris, and had a Hong Kong branch at 10 Queen’s Road, Central. Over the years, Levy Hermanos opened branches in Shanghai, Tientsin, Port Arthur, Kharbin and Bombay.