A bit of history (as I understand it)

In an effort to enter the American market, Ed. Heuer & Cie became Ed. Heuer & Cie, Rose Watch Co. in 1912. In 1914, Heuer began producing chronograph wristwatches with silver cases, enameled dials, and crowns at 12 o'clock. In 1922, the Rose Watch Co. moniker was dropped.

sources: http://www.calibre11.com/history-of-heuer-i-foundation-1920s/2/ and http://www.tagheuer.com/int-en/watchmaking-history/the-first-wrist-worn-chronographs

My watch

According to the hallmarks, the sterling silver case was assayed in London in 1913/1914 and submitted by Stockwell & Co. It is 39mm in diameter with a lug width of 12mm. The case and movement share a serial(?) number of 8031.

source: http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/casemarks.php

The watch is functioning well but the replacement hands certainly need attending to. I have found a similar watch for reference (http://www.ukwatches.com/shop/?wpsc...-silver-cased-heuer-single-button-chronograph) and I wonder how I might go about finding a set of spade hands that will fit.

Also, I have not been able to identify the manufacturer of the beautiful movement. It is about 14 lignes, contains 15 jewels, and has been adjusted to 4 positions. According to ukwatches.com, it is a predecessor to the Valjoux 22 but I have not found any information to confirm this.

Any thoughts would be welcomed, here is the watch.

 

You might have some luck at the OnTheDash Heuer forum,
http://chronocentric.com/forums/heuer/

That place would be your best bet I think, as there are some users there who are very well-educated on pocketwatches (in addition to the fountain of knowledge on Heuer in general)

 

nice watch! could it be a "trench watch"?

 

I believe that the term "trench watch" simply refers to early wristwatches used in WW1. Based on the finishing of the movement and the lack of luminous material I would guess that this watch was not used by the military.

 

Which is not to say that it couldn't have been in the trenches. A lot of this type of equipment was "bring your own".

Tom

 

there were luminus dials in 1917, but, "bring your own" is the best guess.. there were luminus dials in u,s, aircraft in 1917

 

Very interesting and worth a bump. Thanks for the research.

 

The answer regarding the movement/maker is stamped into the case (and probably the cuvette, if any) -- "RF" stands for Robert Freres. They produced this watch for Rose/Heuer, just as they produced the "1915 Montbrillant" movement watches for Gaston Breitling. Robert Freres, which is best known by (one of) its trade name, Minerva, produced chronographs for a number of mfrs in the teens and 20s. Landeron eventually acquired most of the IP. Anyway, it is a Robert Freres watch. Best, Hurley

 

Are you certain that the "RF" marking on the case indicates that the movement was made by Robert Freres? I encountered another watch with the same movement and there was a rooster marking on the dial side of the movement. According to Mikrolisk, a rooster is associated with Charles Hahn & Cie/Landeron. Do you know when this (below) happened?

 

Yes, that's correct. Rights to the 1915 movement later passed into the hands of Landeron -- and by later I mean the 1920s. Many similar watches were produced. The subsequent use of the 1915 movement by Landeron has been well known; the real question has been from where did it originate.

All the best, Hurley