1919 rare 18ct gold vintage Zenith ‘Land & Water’ Trench watch
Date: 1919
Case: 18ct gold, 35mm
Movement: Zenith 18.5″‘ NVSI
Dial: White enamel, black Arabic numerals
Lugs: 14mm
A fine, early 18ct gold vintage Zenith ‘Land & Water’ Trench watch, in fabulous condition. A rare survivor!
A 1919, rare 18ct gold round vintage Zenith ‘Land & Water’ watch, retailed by Birch & Gaydon Ltd. The case measures 35 mm in diameter with 14mm lugs. The ‘Borgel’ style case is signed ZWCo (Zenith Watch Company) and hallmarked Glasgow 1919. The manual wind, 18.5′” NVSI movement, with fine swan-neck regulation, is signed Zenith, with 17 jewels and numbered. The white enamel dial has black Arabic numerals, subsidiary seconds dial and fine blued steel ‘poire squelette’ hands. The dial is signed Birch & Gaydon Ltd., Fenchurch Street, London above the centre, with Land & Water above the seconds dial.
This rare 18ct gold example of the ‘Land & Water’ is a highly desirable ‘trench or officers’ watch!
Birch & Gaydon Ltd., Fenchurch Street, London
Birch & Gaydon, renown retail jewellers and silversmiths, founded in 1861, in Fenchurch Street, London. Birch & Gaydon were well respected jewellers in the capital. They were a suppliers of fine jewellery, also luxury chronometers and other timekeeping devices for practical use aboard ships and to those about to embark on expeditions world-wide. Birch & Gaydon was one of the most prestigious jewellers in Britain in the early 20th century and was acquired by Asprey in the 1960s.
Birch & Gaydon had three trench watch offerings, the ‘Garfield’, the ‘Langbourne’ and the ‘Land & Water’, with the most expensive being the ‘Land & Water’. The name ‘Land and Water’ is thought to have come from the patriotic British newspaper of the same name, formed in 1914 to report on the progress of WW1. Birch & Gaydon retailed the watches that were imported through the Zenith Watch Company office in London. The Land & Water trench watch was offered in two distinct versions. The first of these used a case similar to the famous Borgel case. It had no separate case back and the movement screwed into its housing from the front. It is important to note that the case was not a Borgel and it does not contain the FB makers mark. The second version of the Land & Water trench watch came with a screw-back case. The Land & Water wrist watches were advertised as ‘damp and dust-proof, with a special screw in movement, ideal for Naval and Military Officers, also travellers and explorers’.
Zenith Watch Company
Fabrique des Billodes was founded in 1865, by Georges Favre-Jacot, a watch apprentice. Favre-Jacot decided to consolidate craftsmen and watchmakers under one roof, leading to the creation of the first modern watchmaking factory in Switzerland. The factory was completed in 1881, and Favre-Jacot played a pivotal role in bringing Swiss watchmaking into the industrial age. By manufacturing all the watch components in a single factory and producing standardised parts, he streamlined the manufacturing process. The company produced watches under the name Zenith, which was then registered as a brand in 1911.By the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Zenith was already well-established as one of Switzerland’s most prestigious watchmaking houses. Zenith had been a producer of luxurious pocket watches aimed at a wealthy, high-spending clientele who could afford to pay for its high-quality movements. During the war, Zenith transformed its efforts into the creation of the new wrist-worn trench watches that were a necessity on the battlefield.
