Here we have an ingenious example of waterproof watch design from the 1920s. This is a West End Watch Co Keepsake watch which has the silver Hermetic case design, patented by Jean Finger. In essence it is a case within a case. The outer case creates a complete seal with the screw on front, with no opening for the crown. Once opened the watch movement and dial sit in a hinged carrier with the crown for winding and setting. The case measures just over 33mm wide and has a beautiful design with the clean circular case and coin edge bezel for opening. The lugs are fixed bars, attached to the top and bottom. Inside is the hinged main section, with dial and movement, further protected by a snap-on front with crystal and the snap on back. The inside of the case has the Swiss hallmarking for silver. The dial is a clean white enamel with the railroad minute track and stylised Breguet numerals in black with the red 12. Below 12 is the West End name and ‘Keepsake’ model name. Above 6 is the inset sub-second register. The hands are thermally blued, of Spade and Whip style. To the right is the neat coin edge crown. Inside is the FHF 1146, which is a 15 jewel manually wound movement. It has been recently serviced and is keeping time to within 1 minute variation per day.

The Design:
In January 1921 Jean Finger was granted Swiss patent number ‘89276’ for a "Montre à remontoire avec boitier protecteur". Or in plain English, a watch with a ‘protective box’ and as we said in even plainer English, a case within a case.
The watch was placed inside a larger case which had the screw-down bezel to form a hermetic seal, protecting the watch for dust and moisture. Once the bezel was unscrewed, the main body of the watch was visible, which was attached to a hinge to allow access to the crown and subsequently set the time and wind it.
This achieved the desired water/dust proof effect but had the major drawback of wear from the bezel being unscrewed every day to wind/set the watch. It is a bit of a fiddly job, now a fun novelty. But the case threads and the milling on the bezel wore quite quickly the use. Despite these limitations, a number of manufacturers (Eberhard, Zenith, Marvin) produced watches using this patented case design. Hans Wilsdorf also liked the design and bought the patent, manufacturing a Rolex watch called the "Hermetic" or “Submarine” from 1924, with similar designs from other manufacturers disappearing.

This was not the first case of this type though. It was later found to have been preceded by 4 years, with Gruen applying for a patent 1918, which was granted in 1919.
Still Jean Finger has the proud accolade of beating Rolex to such a design by five years.

The watch:
We love this watch due to its clean appearance with the perfectly symmetrical outer case and the eye-catching textured coin edge bezel. It also has an interesting place in horological history, with its case design being one of the earliest hermetic designs to protect against moisture and dust. Add to this the West End manufacture, one of the lesser seen hermetic examples from the period, and we have a stylish and collectable piece.

The dial is a bright white enamel with the black signing. It has the classic railroad minute track to the exterior and the stylised Breguet numerals with the standout red 12. Below 12 o’clock it has the ‘West End Watch Co’ name proudly signed with the red ‘Keepsake’ model name below. At 6 o’clock is the inset sub-second dial with the matching railroad minute track. It has the 5 second dashes with the 10 second Arabic graduations. The hour and minute hand are of spade and whip style, with the bright thermally blued finish. The sub-second hand has the lollipop counter balance and also has the bright thermally blued tone.

The case measures 33.3mm wide by 33.5mm in length. The lug-to-lug length is 36mm. The lug width is classic for the era at just over 12mm. It is formed of silver and is a clean circular design. The outer casing is neat, yet eye-catching with the sharp coin edge to the bezel. To the top and bottom and the fixed wire lugs which are curved to fit the wrist. The case back is smooth with the polished finish.

The bezel unscrews to expose the inner hinged case. The hinge is located at 10 o’clock, with the lip at 4 o’clock which allows you to lift it up and access the crown fully. The crown has the knurled edge and appears original to the watch. The bezel snaps on and holds the crystal, protecting the dial. The case back also snaps on. The inside of the outer case has Swiss hallmarking for Silver with the West End logo, case reference and serial number. Once the inner cases back is off it also has silver hallmarking with matching serial number.

The movement is the FHF calibre 1146 which is manually wound and has a jewel count of 15. It is marked with the West end logo next to the balance. It has the gilt frosted finish which is pleasing to the eye. It has been recently serviced and is keeping time to within 1 minute variation per day, with a strong amplitude of 335 degrees.

The watch is presented on a vintage style Darlena leather strap which is a good match to the design.

Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.

Dial:
The dial is original and is in good overall condition with the bright white tone and clear signing. When the bezel is removed there is a nick to the edge between 3-4 o’clock, but this hasn’t caused hairline fractures. There is a hairline fracture between 10 and 11 o’clock.

Hands:
The hands are original and are in good condition. They are thermally blued, with an even tone and no signs of corrosion or bending.

Glass:
The acrylic crystal is a modern replacement and is in very good condition.

Case:
The case is formed of silver and has a well-defined coin edge to the bezel. There is some scratching associated with age. The lugs are good and strong. There is a historic dent and scratching to the left hand underside near 4 o’clock.

Case back:
The case back is in good condition with only light surface scratching.

Strap:
The watch comes on a new vintage style genuine leather strap for fixed bar lugs.

Movement:
The movement is the FHF calibre 1146 which is manually wound and has a jewel count of 15. It has been recently serviced and is keeping time to within 1 minute variation per day, with a strong amplitude of 335 degrees.

Case Dimensions:
Case width: 33.3mm
Case length: 33.5mm
Case length lug to lug: 36mm
Case Depth: 11.7mm
Lug width: 12.25mm