Pocket watch · Hunting cased pocket chronometer

Lebet & Fils Hunting Cased Pocket Chronometer

Partially verified

This large 18K gold pocket chronometer, created by Lebet & Fils of Buttes, Switzerland, dates to approximately 1860 and was produced for the American market. The watch features a heavy four-body "bassine et filets" hunting case. Both the case exterior and bow are elaborately decorated with chased floral motifs and deep foliage engravings, with a central monogram escutcheon on the back cover. The watch comes with an original gold chain and a gold key accented with a diamond-set letter "H". Internally, the timepiece contains a 22-jewel, frosted and gilt three-quarter plate movement equipped with a fusee-and-chain system, maintaining power, a pivoted detent escapement, and a free-sprung helical balance spring. The white enamel dial displays gilt Roman numerals and a subsidiary seconds indicator, complemented by blued steel fleur-de-lys hands. The watch measures 60 mm in diameter and is signed on the movement and cuvette.

Front view of the 18K gold Lebet & Fils hunting cased chronometer with the front cover open, displaying the white enamel dial and subsidiary seconds. — Antiquorum. Rights pending — permission not yet requested. Original source

Catalogue identity

Source: catalog.antiquorum.swiss
Category: Pocket watch · Hunting cased pocket chronometer
Maker / attribution: Lebet & Fils
Reference: Not recorded
Catalogue / lot identifier: 240
Source-reported date: circa 1860
Source-reported place: Switzerland
Source-reported serial: 5201

Source-reported attribution and specifications are not independent authentication. A listing does not establish present ownership, current display, availability or permission to reproduce.

Object description

Case and Aesthetic Details

The watch is housed in a substantial four-body 18K gold hunting case described as "bassine et filets." The exterior exhibits significant decorative work, with the case band, pendant, and bow featuring chased floral patterns. The front and back covers are heavily engraved with foliage, with the reverse side centered by an escutcheon bearing a small, unidentified monogram.

Accompanying the watch is an original matching gold chain and a gold key. The key exhibits a scalloped border and is finished with a diamond-set initial "H," maintaining the decorative theme of the piece. The white enamel dial uses gilt Roman numerals and incorporates a sunk subsidiary seconds register at the bottom, marked by blued steel hands in a fleur-de-lys pattern.

Evidence for this section

“C. Four body, massive, "bassine et filets", the band, pendant and bow chased with a floral decoration, cover end back profusely engraved with foliage”
“Heavy matching chain and gold key with scalloped border and the diamond-set lettre "H”
“D. White enamel with gilt Roman numerals and sunk subsidiary seconds. Blued steel "fleur-de-lys" hands.”

Movement and Technical Specification

The movement is a 22-jewel, frosted and gilt three-quarter plate calibre designed for precision timekeeping. It utilizes a traditional fusee and chain mechanism for constant force, augmented by a maintaining power feature to ensure the watch keeps running during winding. The escapement is a pivoted detent type, a configuration often found in high-grade chronometers of the mid-19th century.

Regulation is handled by a two-arm compensation balance, which incorporates gold poising and timing screws for adjustment. The balance spring is a free-sprung blued steel helical type, and the balance staff is secured with a diamond end-stone. The movement is signed, and technical specifications are inscribed on the hinged gold cuvette.

Evidence for this section

“M. 19- , frosted and gilt, three-quarter plate, 22 jewels in screwed settings, fusee with chain and maintaining power, pivoted detent escapement, two-arm compensation balance with gold poising and timing screws, diamond end-stone, free sprung blued steel helical balance spring.”

Condition and Provenance

The auction description reports that the timepiece is in very good condition.

The provenance of the object is limited to its description as a piece made for the American market around 1860. The specific history of the piece between its manufacture in Buttes and its appearance for auction remains unrecorded in the source material provided.

Evidence for this section

“made for the American Market, circa 1860.”
“In very good condition.”

Open research questions

What are the specific technical details engraved on the gold cuvette?
Who was the original owner represented by the monogram on the case escutcheon?

Source evidence

Recorded claims and source quotations for Lebet & Fils Hunting Cased Pocket Chronometer
Field	Source-reported value	Source quotation
Maker	Lebet & Fils	“Lebet & Fils a Buttes, en Suisse”
Date	circa 1860	“circa 1860”
Case Material	18K Gold	“18K hunting cased”
Case Serial Number	5201	“case No. 5201”
Movement Type	Three-quarter plate with fusee and chain	“frosted and gilt, three-quarter plate, 22 jewels in screwed settings, fusee with chain and maintaining power”
Escapement	Pivoted detent	“pivoted detent escapement”
Dimensions	60 mm	“Diam. 60 mm.”
Signed	Cuvette and movement	“Signed on the cuvette and movement.”

Visible details

Case features chased floral decoration on the band, pendant, and bow
Dial equipped with blued steel fleur-de-lys hands
Movement contains a diamond end-stone
Includes a matching gold chain and diamond-set winding key

Research qualifications

The monogram on the escutcheon is not identified
The specific nature of the technical details engraved on the cuvette is not listed in the text

Photograph identity and source facts were screened before import; rights clearance remains pending.

Consulted source

Lebet & Fils a Buttes, en Suisse, case No. 5201, made for the American Market, circa 1860. Very fine and large 18K hunting cased, pocket chronometer, accompanied by the original gold matching chain and gold diamond-set key.

Reviewed 2026-10-26 · Record 21587bd456

Terms in this record

Glossary explanations for terms named in this object’s record.