Vintage Trench Style West End Watch Co. Wristwatch circa 1920s

The West End Watch Company was founded in 1886. Its name was inspired by the West End, a district in central London, by M. Arnold Charpi, the Bombay representative for the Swiss watch company Alcide Droz & Sons, based in Saint-Imier, Canton of Bern.

In 1886, MM. Amstutz and Droz, owners of Alcide Droz & Sons, began marketing the West End Watch Company in India and developed the first waterproof pocket watch, “L’Impermeable,” which is now displayed at the International Watchmaking Museum in La Chaux-de-Fonds.

What’s on Offer

It’s appearance suggests that it was made for military use in the trenches but actually it was most likely made available to the public. Its design aspects also tell us that it dates to the 1920s or 30s. These particular types of watches replicated the watches worn in the trenches during the First and Second World Wars.

Its case is comprised of a stainless steel back and some sort of white metal for the mid-case. It does not appear to be plated and is in fairly good condition considering its age. The dial is comprised of black Arabic numerals against a white enamel backdrop and a very nice contrasting touch of red. “Queen Anne” was most likely the name of this particular model or collection of watches.

Internally the watch contains a very nice looking manual winding movement. A calibre for the movement cannot be located but we do know that West End Watch Company did produce their own in-house mechanical movements at the time this watch was approximately produced. This watch came to us as part of a large collection from a valued client of ours. We have been tasked with selling them. This being said, although the watches have been well looked after, they have not been serviced recently. If you do wish for it to be serviced prior to purchasing wed be happy to do so for an additional cost.

This watch is offered for sale as seen, as the watches service history is unknown and we are selling it on behalf of a watch collector’s family who have asked us to help sell an entire collection. As there are quite a few watches to dispose of, the clients do not wish to spend unnecessary money on servicing each watch before its sold so we have priced the watches to reflect it being sold un-serviced and without a warranty but it can be arranged with our watchmaker at an additional cost if you wish. Once you have made the purchase please add a note when placing it in your basket and we will contact you to discuss this. Once serviced the watch will be given a 12-month warranty.