That certain something
The Beyer Clock and Watch Museum has been one of Zurich’s top attractions for 50 years. In honour of the museum’s 50th birthday, we are presenting five unusual exhibits from five centuries.
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Left:
FOR LUMBERJACKS AND CRAFTSMEN
“This watch was originally developed around 1940 for Finnish lumberjacks. The charming Art Deco look and the superbly legible luminous numerals still go down well today: This model is one of our most popular.” Beyer: Lépine, Ref. 50616 AA06, manual winding, chrome-plated case, CHF 690, chain: stainless steel, 30 cm, CHF 46
Middle:
FOR TABLE AND POCKET
“This unusual pocket watch is reminiscent of a porthole on a ship and even has something of a marine chronometer, if you like: thanks to the beautiful brass case with its rosewood base, it can also be enjoyed as a table clock.”
Beyer: Table and pocket watch, Ref. 25795 J501, quartz, gold-plated, CHF 950
Right:
FOR AESTHETES AND ECSTATICS
“Visually, we almost can’t imagine anything more beautiful. But mechanically too, this watch is something very special: It has a stopwatch, date function and moon phase display. You almost can’t get that in any of the new pocket watches any more. The Chrono with its outstanding Valjoux movement could be described as our Rolls-Royce.” Beyer: Lépine Chrono, Ref. 69681 J101, manual winding, moon phases, yellow gold-plated, CHF 2480, chain: gold-plated, 70 cm, CHF 35
here is a simple reason why Beyer Watches & Jewellery has pocket watches in their range: the Jura-based company Aerowatch, which manufactures the Beyer watches, was originally a pocket-watch factory. And although today’s owners, the Bolzli family, concentrate primarily on wristwatches, they still carefully cultivate the old know-how and the pocket watch as a traditional niche product – for Beyer’s clientele too.
“It’s true, it does feel like there’s something of a renaissance at the moment,” says Jean-Sébastien Bolzli on the other end of the phone line, in Saignelégier, and laughs: “Although you can’t say that all boys suddenly prefer a pocket watch to an Apple Watch.” But with the vintage theme that established itself nearly a decade ago, the pocket watch has also come back into people’s consciousness. Hanging on a chain and tucked into a waistcoat pocket, it expresses a casual attitude, to some extent the ultimate detail for a vintage look. As Bolzli observes: “The pocket watch is particularly popular with style mavericks as an accessory that lets them stand out stylishly from the crowd.”
Since older models, i.e. genuine vintage pocket watches, can be somewhat fragile and sooner or later need to be overhauled or even repaired, fashion-savvy customers generally prefer to buy new. “They appreciate above all that the modern movements run flawlessly and are relatively robust, as well as the dust and splash resistance of the watches,” says Jean-Sébastien Bolzli, who offers us his comments on three exceptional models from the Beyer pocket watch range.
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