93rd Auction
2016/5/14
Lot 346
Lip, French, Case No. 27455, 51 mm, 87 g, circa 1918
A gentleman's rare dress watch with watch chain - a watch presented by the Belgian royal house in honour and appreciation of veterans - so called "Montre de l'Yser"
Case: steel gun-metal finished. Dial: enamel. Movm.: 2/3 plate movement, screw compensation balance.
Created to commemorate the Battle of the Yser
The "Montres de l'Yser" with the initials of King Albert and Queen Elisabeth were commissioned by King Albert and a total of 4,000 pieces were produced – approximately 2,300 of them in August 1918 and another 1,700 pieces in January 1919. The watches were presented by the king or the queen in appreciation of services during combat in the last months of the war; later they were also awarded as personal mementos for special merits. They were only ever given to veteran soldiers and sometimes came with a document signed by the king or by the queen.
By 1975 the king had only a small number of the watches left in his possession.
The Lip factory was founded in the 1960s by Emmanuel Lipmann in Besançon in France. The company got into difficulties with strikes and factory occupations in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to the company being worker-managed for a while. The daily paper Libération called the struggle "the social conflict of the 1970s".
A gentleman's rare dress watch with watch chain - a watch presented by the Belgian royal house in honour and appreciation of veterans - so called "Montre de l'Yser"
Case: steel gun-metal finished. Dial: enamel. Movm.: 2/3 plate movement, screw compensation balance.
Created to commemorate the Battle of the Yser
The "Montres de l'Yser" with the initials of King Albert and Queen Elisabeth were commissioned by King Albert and a total of 4,000 pieces were produced – approximately 2,300 of them in August 1918 and another 1,700 pieces in January 1919. The watches were presented by the king or the queen in appreciation of services during combat in the last months of the war; later they were also awarded as personal mementos for special merits. They were only ever given to veteran soldiers and sometimes came with a document signed by the king or by the queen.
By 1975 the king had only a small number of the watches left in his possession.
The Lip factory was founded in the 1960s by Emmanuel Lipmann in Besançon in France. The company got into difficulties with strikes and factory occupations in the 1970s and 1980s, which led to the company being worker-managed for a while. The daily paper Libération called the struggle "the social conflict of the 1970s".
estimated
1.600—2.600 €
Price realized
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