Here we have something of an oddity dating to 1924, a silver classic trench style watch by Ingersoll, with the white enamel dial, Ingersoll signed movement and the Rolex Watch Co Ltd silver case. It is a classic design for the period with the 32.5mm silver case with the hinged front and case back. The white enamel dial is bold with the clear railroad minute track and Arabic numerals. It has the inset sector to the middle and the in-set sub-second dial. The hands are of cathedral style and are thermally blued. To the top and bottom are the sturdy silver wire lugs and to the right is the onion style crown. The case has the hallmarking for sterling silver from Glasgow assay office, with the date letter ‘b’ for 1924. The movement is an Aegler calibre which has the Ingersoll signing to the ratchet wheel. It is a good quality Swiss lever movement with 15 jewels, which has been recently serviced and is keeping reliable time.
So why is an Ingersoll marked Rolex Watch Company Ltd?
Ingersoll began in America as Robert H. Ingersoll & Bros, a catalogue sales and mail order business, known for its low prices. The Ingersoll company in England was formed in 1901 as “Ingersolls Limited”, 55 Hatton Garden, London. This was set up to sell the American watches to the British public. They were sold by many retailers, most often general stores and could be ordered by mail order. When the American parent company was declared bankrupt in 1921, the English company continued as Ingersoll Watch Co. Ltd.
Watches were originally imported from the USA, but later the company opened a factory in London. After World War Two, Ingersoll collaborated with Smiths Industries, to create a watch factory in Wales.
In 1924/25 Ingersoll introduced a range of 15 jewelled lever watches, ‘Gem’ for ladies and ‘Elite’ for men. These watches represented a significantly better offering than the standard ‘Dollar’ watch from Ingersoll.
Many of these watches carried the ‘RWC LTD’ sponsors mark for Rolex Watch Company. This mark indicated who took responsibility for an item when it was submitted for hallmarking. There is no Rolex branding to the movement of the dial, it is likely that Ingersoll purchases watches wholesale from Rolex Watch Company Ltd. This makes sense as the movement is an Aegler calibre which is seen in other Hans Wilsdorf ‘Rolex’ sub brands in the era, such as ‘Unicorn’.
Credit to David Boettcher and his excellent website for information on the Rolex Ingersoll watches and other Rolex sub-brands.
https://www.vintagewatchstraps.com/wilsdorfsotherbrands.php#RolexandIngersoll
The watch is modelled on a 7” wrist circumference.
Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
A further condition report is below.
Dial:
The dial is original and is formed of enamel. The signing is good and clear. There is a small chip on the left middle edge, which isn’t visible with the bezel on. There are some hairline fractures from 9 o’clock.
Hands:
The hands are original, of Cathedral style and have the thermally blued finish. They are in good condition with the bright tone.
Glass:
The acrylic crystal is a modern replacement which is in good condition with no marking.
Crown:
The crown is original and is in good antique condition, functioning as it should.
Case:
The case is in good condition for the age with just surface scratching and some light nicks. There are no deep scratches or noticeable dents. The lug wires are original.
Caseback:
The case back is free of engraving and has a good hinge. It has only light surface scratching associated with age.
Strap:
The watch comes on a vintage style leather strap, with fold over tabs for the fixed wire lugs.
Movement:
The movement is a 15-jewel manual wind Aegler calibre.
It has been recently serviced and is keeping accurate time to within + 60 seconds per day variation, with an amplitude of 230 degrees and a beat error of 1.0m/s.
Case dimensions
Case width: 32.75mm
Case width with crown: 35.25mm
Case length: 32.8mm
Case length lug to lug: 40.5mm
Case depth: 11mm
Lug width: 14mm