# Ansaldo Pocket Watch?



## InebriatedGnome (Jul 13, 2012)

The other day, I was looking through my late grandfather's old things and found a pretty nondescript cylindrical box. It was made of wood, with no noticeable markings on the inside, and contained a pocket watch.

I currently don't have access to a camera, and internet services in the area are too poor to allow for uploading, but I should be able to put some up soon. The watch is a silver-plated piece in a hunter case, with the Gio Ansalo & C. logo/code of arms on the front. Above it are the words 'Gio Ansaldo & C.', with 'Genova' underneath the emblem. The watch face bears no markings besides 'C.J. Berthet' written on the top half of the face, and 'Ancre 17 Rubis' on the bottom half.

I'd really appreciate some help with identifying it--there's nothing I can find on the internet regarding any of the words on the watch.

As always, thanks you all.


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## InebriatedGnome (Jul 13, 2012)

Oh gosh. I wrote this in a hurry while my family was just leaving the house--hence the cringe-inducing mistakes--and now can't seem to find the edit button. Damn.

The watch may have been made by a company called Berthet Horlogerie, whose watches are proving pretty hard to find online. If anyone has more info on the watch or its manufacturer, I'd appreciate it greatly.

I also neglected to mention a couple of things: the dial has large Roman numerals inside the ring of small lines indicating minutes, and smaller Arabic ones outside the ring; there's a separate dial for seconds at the forty-five minute mark; the minute and hour hands are thin and ornate (nothing like those of a railroad watch); and the crown is positioned at three o'clock.


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## mel (Dec 6, 2006)

Can't help with the watch, but the "disappearing Edit button" is a time delineated thing. You only have a limited timespan within which you can change things, after that the button goes off, and you're stuck with what you've written. :lol:

HTH a bit

:weed:

TSA

The Sequined Avenger!


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## InebriatedGnome (Jul 13, 2012)

Thanks for the info Mel--it's a bit sad, but I'm far too anal about these things.

I still can't get at a decent camera, so these (terrible) phone shots will have to do:



















I'm having trouble using a knife to take the back off without damaging the watch, so pictures of the movement should be up once I find a small enough screwdriver.

I managed to get a reply from Berthet; apparently the watch was a special order from Ansaldo for their staff, which was limited to 1,250 pieces. The movement size is 40mm, which should help to illustrate the size of the watch (once again, I apologise for the photos), and the case is apparently made of sterling silver. However, I can't find any stamps on the exterior or the inside of the door, and have replied asking about the location of any marks. It's worth noting that the person who took my question didn't seem comfortable writing in English, and the watch could well be silver-plated instead--it's likely only tarnished (and not brassed) because my grandfather never used it.


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## Julian Latham (Jul 25, 2005)

"pictures of the movement should be up once I find a small enough screwdriver.".

I could almost hear the sharp intake of breath as forum members saw this. Either take it to a local watchmender or approach carefully with something like a blunt broad bladed butter knife. Case covers may be snap fastening or threaded - first task is to determine how the cover is secured.

There are several sites that post instructions on opening cases, e.g. http://www.pocketwatcher.org/category/watch_information.openyourwatchcase/

Go carefully and using the minimum force so there is no risk of deeply gouging the case.


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## InebriatedGnome (Jul 13, 2012)

Luckily, I thought better of it once I finally found the screwdriver :sweatdrop:

Blunt implements aren't working particularly well, and I'm loath to apply any considerable amount of force to the case. It's almost definitely snap-fastened--I'd worked it out before posting this, although I obviously hadn't considered how unsuitable a screwdriver was for the job. There's a barely-visible groove between the back of the case and the middle, positioned around the twelve o-clock mark. It's only really noticeable because of a slight blemish where someone evidently tried taking a sharper lever to it, but once I've sent the case to a silversmith for cleaning it shouldn't be an issue--it's only marginally lighter than the rest of the surface at the moment, and not a clear gouge.

I'll have to wait til I'm back home before showing it to a watch shop, so the movement--and hallmarks--will likely remain hidden for another few days, unless I can find a case knife in Islamabad.


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