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smith1792 3T WIS 
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OK fellas, time to pick the brain of some of you SERIOUS WIS. I have an old pocket watch that belonged to my grandfather. My dad can't tell me when, or how long, he (his father) had it. It was in pieces when I got it and I took it to a local jeweler that I trust. After about 3.5 weeks, it was returned to me in perfect working order. The watch was made by a company called HAFIS, but I can't find much about them. It appears to be gold with an ivory colored dial. The dial is enameled, and I will post pictures later. Thanks, Stu |
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stormin13 3T WIS 
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I'm sorry I can't help you with some information on the very nice sounding pocket watch but please post some pictures when you have time. I would like to hear some more of the watches history with your family if possible, cheers. cool10.gif |
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smith1792 3T WIS
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As promised, here are some pictures. I apologize for my poor photography.       I hope the photos can help someone out there fill me in on this company and the era of this pocketwatch. Stu |
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IanM 3T WIS 
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Hi mate Google Hafis: F Suter and Cie and go to: http://mb.nawcc.org/showthread.php?t=25362 and this alphabetical list: http://www.altivotimepieces.com/vintage/id90.html and this ad for a watch has some more history in the body of the text, quoting the other name on your pocket watch movement "R GSELL" as a distributor: http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/12336329/VINTAGE_SWISS_HAFIS_MENS_MILITARY_DIAL_WATCH.html Good luck with your search! IanM hand6.gif |
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bigrustypig 3T WIS 
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IanM wrote: Hi mate You're a whiz, IanM. Good feed. Stu, I've never seen a pocketwatch like that before. Even the way you have stored and displayed it is uncommon. Use it in good healthyourock.gif |
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smith1792 3T WIS
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Ian, Thanks for the info. From what I know, my grandfather was born in 1910 and died in 1973. The time period listed as their (Hafis) heyday (1920's), would fit with his age range. Stu |
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IanM 3T WIS
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Great, Stu! Nothing better than tracking down what these days could be quite a rare one. In their heyday, they had distributors, so there must have been some demand. Keep an eye out on the forums and try to put a search title into something like the bay - you never know, something may come up for sale with a bit more info than the superficial stuff I have been able to track down for you, or you may get to know someone who knows a LOT more than I ever would. Sorry for the loss of your grandfather, mate, but very happy for you that he has left you something quite unusual and unique by which to remember him. Cheers! IanM hand6.gif |
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murphy j 3T WIS 
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What a BEAUTIFUL movement. I Love the look of old pocket watch movements. Great family heirloom to pass on to the next generation of your family. Enjoy it in good health. |
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Simon_Leung 3T WIS 
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After doing a little research on Gsell Watch of New York. This is what I came up with. Roland A. Gsell was born in St.Imier, Switzerland; this is the same town to the home of Longines. Mr. Gsell came to the United States in 1918 and started his own watch importing business, R. Gsell & Company, on Maiden Lane in Manhattan. He became an American citizen in 1922 and was active in the jewelry and watch industry throughout his life. He retired in the mid-1970's. Unfortunately he passed away at age 95 back in 1991. The name F. Suter and Cie. may not be familiar to anyone. However, F. Suter was the founder of Buren Watch Company in 1867. Buren was famous for the micro-rotor that was used in by both Universal's Polerouter and Hamilton's Thino-Matic. In 1969 when Caliber 11 an automatic chronograph was being developed. The Buren micro-rotor was used in part with the Depraz-Dubois Chronograph Module. Last edited on Tue Aug 4th, 2009 10:24 am by Simon_Leung |
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smith1792 3T WIS
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Simon, WOW! Thanks for all the info. With the gentleman's retirement before my birth, that my be why I never heard of his company. Again, thank you. Stuart Smith |
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Simon_Leung 3T WIS
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You're very welcome, Stuart. Cheers, Simonhand6.gif |
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stormin13 3T WIS
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Stu, it is great to hear that you have already started to gain a good deal of background information on your Grandfathers watch. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy this forum so much, everyone is so helpful. The way you display the watch is very cool. Good luck in your quest for more information. cool10.gif |
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Simon_Leung 3T WIS
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Buren Watch Company was acquired and owned by Hamilton in 1966. From 1966 to 1969, Hamilton Lancaster and Buren Switzerland were operated as a joint concern, with Hamilton using a number of Swiss movements for their "American" watches and Buren utilizing a number of components manufactured by Hamilton Lancaster. It was during this time that Hamilton started to selectively incorporate the highly innovative Buren Microtor (aka Micro Rotor/Microrotor) movement into small numbers of certain upper tier watches (in addition to their ordinary hand-wind and traditional automatic watches). Cheers, Simon |
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