ONLINE ENCORE - Militaria Auction
Lot 2150a:
Description
Vesta Aviation Pocket Watch & Art Lot
This rare Swiss-made Vesta open-face pocket watch features a nickel-silver case adorned with a striking niello-style engraving of a biplane soaring over a coastal hangar, capturing the adventurous spirit of early 20th-century aviation. The white enamel dial is marked with stylized Arabic numerals and a subsidiary seconds track, while the inner dust cover is stamped “Ancre de Precision” alongside six exhibition medals, housing a 15-jewel manual wind movement likely produced by S. Kocher & Co. (Eska). The watch is operational and winds properly, though timekeeping accuracy is unknown. Included are three framed watercolor and ink illustrations of WWI-era French biplanes, each signed by the same artist; these works appear to be created after the war and likely in the 1960’s-1980’s. They are numbered, and possibly hand tinted as well of French escadrille aircraft. The watch is missing its crystal, leaving the dial exposed; the dial has a faint hairline crack near the 10 o’clock position, the case shows delamination and plating loss around the edges, and the art shows minor age-related toning. Watch: H 2.25″ including stem, W 1-7/8″, D 0.5″. Framed smaller art (2 examples): H 8.25″, W 8.25″, D 0.75″, Framed larger art: H 11.25”, W 11.25”, D 1” Please see photos.
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