This arrived yesterday, interesting to me not only because it is my earliest Helvetia at around 1912, but also because it is waterproof to a design patented in 1883.
The watch has a steel case with a solid back. It only opens from the front by unscrewing the bezel, using the milled edge. With the crown pulled out the movement then hinges out of the case. The movement has some design similarities with the Helvetia 32A which was used in the WWII GSTP watch.
This hinged case design solves two problems, stopping the movement from rotating in the case and ensuring it is accurately located so that the bezel can screw down tightly.
The crown and stem I think are made to this Alcide Droz design.
Basically it is an early type of screw down crown. The operation, and a comparison to other designs of that era, is explained by the incomparable David Boettcher on his website http://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/waterproof.php . If you have any interest in waterproof watches this is worth a read.
The screw down crown is not working on my watch. I have to investigate further but I think it is broken, as there is some damage apparent looking closely at where the crown meets the tube.
The serial number dates the watch to around 1912, thanks to Carl (enfield on the forum) who has researched Helvetia serial numbers for his brilliant site https://www.helvetiahistory.co.uk.
The first recorded waterproof watch dates to 1851, and the first patents to the 1870s and 1880s. It’s nice to have something that was made using that early technology, which in essence is very similar to the Oyster and other waterproof wristwatches that followed.
Incidentally, Alcide Droz went on to set up the West End Watch company. Helvetia, set up as a sister company to Omega, is probably best known for their 1928 pattern pilots watches, which share some design cues with this one (but definitely not waterproof). They soldiered on through the quartz crisis, probably into the 1980s.
I’d welcome any further information and corrections, or indeed pictures of other waterproof pocket watches.
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