Pocket Watch: Silver Wireless Telegrapher's Timepiece / Pocket Watch

The watch has a stem-winding movement which is working and keeping time to within around ten minutes over 24 hours. The movement carries the mark Cyrus GT, a mark registered by Fabriques d'Horlogerie Thommen SA in 1897. The movement is protected by an inner hinged cover which has been engraved, ‘Six prize medals, J N Masters Ltd, Rye, Sussex’. In 1869, Masters took over a watch making business, and in 1896 J N Masters Ltd was formed. Founded by John Neve Masters in 1896, the company sold its own English-made watches, as well as imported Swiss movements such as the example we have here. Masters went on to become Mayor of Rye. The watch measures 49mm diameter excluding the winding stem and the loop. The case is silver and there are Continental 935 silver marks inside both of the case backs. The case has some unevenness, mainly to the hinged case back. The glass lens has small marks across it but is very acceptable. The dial has a couple of hairlines but they are faint. One of the hands is a period replacement. The watch was designed to be used by telegraph operators. It was important that a time should be added to every message so the receiver would know precisely when it was sent and therefore how fresh the information was. As there was no provision for sending numbers, a three letter code was used instead. The watch comes in a vintage presentation box. All prices include UK postage (excluding Northern Ireland). Please contact us regarding international shipping costs. Some countries do not allow the importation of antiques / watches / precious metals. Please contact us prior to placing an order if you are unsure about your country and we can check this for you. The international buyer is responsible for paying any import duties and taxes. All of our watches are checked over before listing and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch. We are a VAT registered company and all purchases are covered by Consumer Regulations. Credit / debit card purchases can be made over the telephone on 01386 750238 or you can proceed via the red 'Buy Now' button on each listing page. We are an on-line only business and do not have facilities for callers. Our offices are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. With regards to appraisals / valuations, we receive a huge number of information requests each day and unfortunately do not have the manpower to deal with them all individually. Our advice would be to contact a local auctioneer for a full appraisal.