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  1. aap Aug 24, 2018

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    Hi guys!

    As posted a few days back, I just got this here in Tokyo:
    [​IMG]

    I just wanted to ask the community as to what the etchings on the inside caseback mean (aside from serial number and service date of course):
    39913979_1964021350321579_8916087025409458176_n (1).jpg

    Thanks in advance!
     
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  2. X350 XJR Vintage Omega Aficionado Aug 24, 2018

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    925 would indicate sterling silver, need larger clearer photo(s) of the hallmarks to say much more.
     
    aap likes this.
  3. Canuck Aug 24, 2018

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    Much clearer, higher definition images would be needed in order to decipher those marks in the case back. It would also be helpful if you would post a picture of the movement in the watch, owing to the lack of name on the dial. The A B would likely be the trade mark of the case maker. The Q could be a date letter, but being this is a Swiss made case, it may not be a date letter since that is not a tendency of the Swiss to date a case that way. The one stamping I am most in doubt about is the stamping at the 3:00 o’clock position. It is so blurred, I can’t decide what it might be. The miscellaneous “scribblings” are codes left when the watch was repaired. The L5, that I don’t know, for sure. The Swiss used a “responsibility” mark in items made of precious metal. The L5 doesn’t look like a Swiss responsibility mark to me. The .925 is the quality mark for sterling silver which is 92.5% pure silver.
     
  4. JimInOz Melbourne Australia Aug 24, 2018

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    The "AB" is possibly the sponsor mark of Arthur Baume, for an English case imported from Switzerland.
    The "Q" mark could be the assay office date stamp, but we need to know which assay office it is.
    The mark to the right of the "925" stamp is most likely the assay office import mark, but I would need a clearer shot to determine much more.
     
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  5. Canuck Aug 24, 2018

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    I wondered if that stamp was for an assay hall in Great Britain. Too blurred to make a judgement. But if that stamp is for a British assay hall, I would expect to also see the “lion passant” standard mark the British used for sterling silver. It is not there. And the surround on the letter Q does not look to me to be a shape that the British used on their date letters. There were at least seven case makers in Britain that used an A B trade mark. Baume changed the surround around his A B trade mark several time over decades. Real puzzle, that one.
     
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  6. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Aug 25, 2018

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    Very interesting discussion about that AB mark. What does « assay » mean?
     
  7. aap Aug 25, 2018

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    Wow, thanks for the replies guys. Weird, that I didn't get any notifications of any reply. I tried enlarging the photos. If it's still blurry, I'll try to ask for higher resolutions from the store as I don't have my watch tools with me:
    39913979_1964021350321579_8916087025409458176_n.jpg
    39923914_538180259973694_1577592224269467648_n (1).jpg
     
  8. Darlinboy Pratts! Will I B******S!!! Aug 25, 2018

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    It’s testing the case material to determine precious metal content is correctly represented.
     
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  9. Syrte MWR Tech Support Dept Aug 25, 2018

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    Thank you. The word clearly comes from old French then :)
     
  10. JimInOz Melbourne Australia Aug 25, 2018

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    It would only be there if it was an English made case. This is imported so the "Town / Import" stamp in effect, replaces the lion passant.

    The town stamp (as shown in the pics) is impossible to decipher, but if we want to make a guess and follow David Boettcher's excellent guide, the case was either assayed in Glasgow in 1913/1914, or in Chester in 1915/1916.

    Screen Shot 2018-08-26 at 11.44.43 AM.png

    BTW, David's site is an excellent guide for any vintage watch collector interested in trench watches.
     
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  11. JimInOz Melbourne Australia Aug 25, 2018

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    Movement looks like a Longines Caliber 12.92 (12 1/4 ligne).

    The caliber number is stamped near the balance, a clearer photo would give us a better indication.

    L1292.jpg
     
  12. Canuck Aug 25, 2018

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    The movement is a Longines. The image is backwards, but in spite of the terrible quality of the movement picture, the name Longines (printed backwards) on the barrel bridge is quite clear. I don’t think this case was marked for the British Isles. The one indistinguishable mark doesn’t appear to me to be the mark of a British assay hall. Better pictures of the inside case back. Nothing can be done to this photo to make the marks easier to read.
     
  13. aap Aug 26, 2018

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    Definitely longInes 12.92. Here are better pics of the inside case back my friends

    D8EBC4B3-0458-451D-85F5-723B35C73617.jpeg 553E27E2-0DF9-4586-83F0-460AFE965104.jpeg 88D66DDD-703D-4003-A86F-FC50D5D81216.jpeg
     
  14. w154 Aug 26, 2018

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    That’s definitely the import stamp for London. On David’s site he has an example that has the letter “a” in the same font and shield, and he states that’s 1916/17. So counting forwards your “o” would go to 1930/31. His example also has the AB sponsors mark which he states is Arthur Baume.

    011DA138-A1F9-421A-A813-894EEB355008.jpeg

    http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/importmarks.php
     
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  15. padders Oooo subtitles! Aug 26, 2018

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    aap and Syrte like this.
  16. w154 Aug 26, 2018

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    This table is for British manufactured silver that was assayed in London. The OP’s watch was imported so it’s not the right table. Not saying the year is wrong though, as they seem to have skipped “j” and that would make 1929/30 match the example on David’s site.
     
  17. padders Oooo subtitles! Aug 26, 2018

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    Wouldn't the year mark would have been stamped in London at the same time as the import mark at Goldsmiths Hall? Most countries inc Switzerland don't use year marks so this was likely a London mark. If so isn't it likely the correct year (for the import at least), it would of course have been manufactured earlier than the exact date of import. AFAIK the same date letter scheme is used (within a given Assay Office) whether silver or gold or presumably import or domestic manufacture. The letters shown above correspond with the table I linked to, though one wrinkle is that some assay offices, Birmingham included changed date letter in the middle not end of the year.
     
    Edited Aug 26, 2018
  18. w154 Aug 26, 2018

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    I edited my response as they seem to skip “j”.

    I recalled that you can’t use the normal assay tables as they don’t always align, but that might be wrong, I looked a little into it once as I have a gold Borgel case with similar import marks.

    697B8B56-67B2-4696-B433-92DA635934ED.jpeg
     
  19. padders Oooo subtitles! Aug 26, 2018

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    Ok that is interesting if they don't align. Logically they would use same letter for both import and domestic but since the Assay Offices didn't cooperate and use a common letter until 1974 who knows what madness they worked to then.
     
  20. w154 Aug 26, 2018

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    Not really sure, but the “s” in a circle on my case doesn’t really match anything in the standard table. I thought I found an import table once but can’t find anything now...