Swiss Early Sterling Silver & Niello Inlay Open Face Pocket Watch by Chs. Tissot-Favre of Le Locle

An elegant example of late 19th-century Swiss watchmaking, this early high-grade open-face pocket watch pairs horology with decorative craftsmanship. The sterling silver case is adorned on the reverse with an intricate polychrome niello inlay design, featuring scrolling foliage and blossoming flowers.

The white enamel dial is signed “Chs. Tissot-Favre, Locle” for Charles Tissot & Fils of Le Locle, Switzerland, the origins of the Tissot watch company. The watch displays the time on elongated Roman numerals, fine blued steel hands, and a subsidiary seconds dial at the six o’clock. Its restrained dial design contrasts beautifully against the ornate casework, allowing both elements to shine.

Inside is a finely made 15-jewel pin-set movement featuring a spiral Breguet hairspring and an anchor escapement, hallmarks of a higher-quality Swiss movement of the period. The Breguet overcoil hairspring was designed to improve isochronism and timekeeping accuracy, while the anchor escapement provided dependable performance well suited to everyday use.

Altogether, this is a striking marriage of technical refinement and decorative artistry, representative of an era when even practical objects were created with extraordinary care and beauty.

50mm

One-Year Warranty

Circa 1890