Antique Silver Wengia 10 Rubis Pocket Watch By The Langendorf Watch Company (3.2 Ounces)

The pocket watch is UNTESTED and the hinge is broken. The watch is stamped "L.W.C. 0.800" which indicates that it's 80% fine silver and that it was made by the Langendorf Watch Company. The watch weighs approximately 3.2 ounces or 90.7 grams.

The Langendorf Watch Company was a Swiss watchmaker known for its fine craftsmanship and great attention to detail. Around 1890, it was probably the largest producer of watches in the world. The company produced watches in Langendorf, Switzerland for exactly a century, from 1873 to 1973.

The most famous brand of the company was Lanco (an abbreviation of Langendorf Watch Company) that was launched as a brand name in the late 1950s. The brand was discontinued in the late 1960s, and revived again from 1971 to around 1980.

Colonel Johann Viktor Kottmann (1822–1881) founded Uhrenfabrik Langendorf SA in 1873. The factory remained in the hands of his family until 1964.

The factory was located in the village Langendorf, canton of Solothurn, district of Lebern, Switzerland. Johann Viktor Kottmann was from nearby Solothurn and had been involved in industrial production of chicory and tobacco products since the 1850s. The factory in Langendorf had been producing chicory since 1851, but was rebuilt in 1873 to produce ebauches (parts of movements for watches) for other watch producing companies.

At its founding, the company had been employing between 70 and 80 workers, but the number of workers was drastically reduced when the company almost suffered an economic collapse in 1880 – allegedly due to severe problems with alcoholism and absenteeism among employees. Perhaps for those reasons, the factory began organizing housing and training of their workers, and it gained a reputation for being socially responsible. It built schools, a hydrant system and financed the installation of electric lights in Langendorf. The Kottmann family also founded a society for community work that is still active.

In the middle of 1880 – just before the company otherwise would have been liquidated – Johann's son Karl Kottmann (1844–1890) took over. Karl was able to attract specialists from western Switzerland who helped turn the company around. Orders began flowing in, and production was expanded strongly. In 1881, some 200 workers were employed at the factory. Production continued to soar under the leadership of Karl Kottmann, who was admired for implementing a rational and mechanized production line. He was also the architect behind the socially responsible initiatives taken by the company.

From 1887 and onwards, production was deepened, and the company became largely independent of suppliers. Karl Kottmann died in 1890, and the technical director, Lucien Tieche, took over the company and changed its name to Langendorf Watch Company.

All major watch producing companies from the Neuchâtel area were ordering parts and ebauches from the Langendorf Watch Company whose workforce grew to around 1,000 by 1890. During that era, the factory was probably the largest watch producer in the world.

An advertisement from 1916 showing a picture of the factory claimed that it employed 1,500 workers and produced 3,000 time-pieces daily. By 1920, the company was also producing alarm clocks. In 1924, a branch was established at Lommiswil, as well as an agency in the following year in La Chaux-de-Fonds. A 1959 advertisement boasted that a large new factory would be completed that year and produce Lanco watches.

In 1902, Ernst Kottmann (1874–1944) became manager of the company which he led until 1942 when he had to resign due to health reasons. Among other initiatives, Ernst made the change from steam-powered production to electricity. His brother Rudolf Kottmann held the position until 1964. Hans Kottmann took over in 1964, but died the same year in an accident. The company was then led by Guido Kottmann and a committee of family members, but due to challenging business conditions – and perhaps problems of mismanagement – the company decided to join a conglomerate of watch makers called "Schweizerischen Gesellschaft für Uhrenindustrie AG" (SGU) in 1964.

Soon after, in 1965, the Langendorf Watch Company was bought by "Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère SA" (SSIH) which was the result of a 1930 merger between Omega and Tissot. Along with the Langendorf Watch Company, SSIH acquired more than 50 of its competitors, fueled by its newfound commercial success.

The Langendorf Watch Company was attractive for the Lanco brand and its highly sophisticated and semi-automated production line with modern manufacturing equipment. With the acquisition, SSIH managed to broaden its product range and got the machinery needed to produce quality products at a lower cost than before. In 1973, production was ceased at the Langendorf production facilities, and the Lanco brand was relegated to the Aetos Watch Company, another sub-branch of SSIH. Since 1977, the old factory building in Langendorf has been a shopping center.

Although SSIH was Switzerland's largest and the world's third largest producer of watches, the company suffered due to heavy competition. It went on to merge with ASUAG into SSIH/ASUAG Holding Company in 1983 – which was renamed SMH in 1986 and in 1988 became The Swatch Group.

From 1890, the main brand of the Langendorf Watch Company was "Langendorf", but the company produced watches and parts that were sold under many other brand names such as Aliada, Barracuda, Carex, Cavalier, Lancet, Stratford, Valogene, Wengia, and the most rare Piquette with AMKO branded movements.

Many of the watches were produced for export, and in order to avoid paying duties, many were cased inside the importing country, including the USA where Langendorf watches were imported by American Swiss Watch Company from the beginning of the 20th century. The latter was reported out of business as of 1915.

During World War I and World War II, the Langendorf Watch Company was renowned for producing military and pilot watches of good quality for servicemen. There was an early wrist watch developed for World War I infantry officers to use in trenches. The 9XX movements from the 1930s and 1940s were very smooth running and were also used in army watches.

Many movements from the 1950s and 1960s have 12 or 13 lined movements, the "qualité exceptionelle" in chronometer standards. Lanco pocket watches are also of very good quality, and some include an alarm function. Watches bearing the "Lanco" brand were being manufactured and sold in the middle 1950s.

The brand soon became successful and known for fine craftsmanship and attention to detail. Lanco watches are still considered to be of very high quality, and they are still traded today.

A number of Lanco watches are famous, such as the "Flying Saucer" or the "Lanco-Fon", a manual-wound watch with an alarm function that was released in the 1960s.

When Lanco was revived in the 1970s, more variety was added to the product line. It became a brand with room for innovation and experimentation, including into digital watches. Many of the 1970s watches were relatively large sized for their time and this makes them sought-after today. Watches from the 1970s such as "Club 77" and "Jump Hour" are also still quite popular.

After 1973, a number of movements from other suppliers were used for Lanco chronographs, the most famous calibers stemming from Valjoux and Angelus. A Lanco watch with the futuristic Tissot Astrolon movement (caliber 2250) was also produced in the 1970s.

During SSIH's financial problems in 1981, the Lanco brand name was sold. As of 1998, new Lanco watches are being sold in South Africa by S. Bacher & Company, under license from The Swatch Group.



In general, all items may or may not have been damaged by water, smoke, mold, insects, mishandling, animal chewing, cracks, nicks, dings, dents, rips, marks, stains, divots, waviness, creases, scratches, etc.

***Please look at the attached photos for size and condition. Photos are part of the description representing the condition report and can be used for authentication prior to the sale date. We urge bidder's to view all attached photos in detail. All items are sold "AS IS". Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.

Notes: Please inspect all photos carefully before bidding. Thank you for your interest and good luck bidding.

18%

Mike Marsullo | (860) 997-3332 | fil14fy@gmail.com

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Torrington, CT 06790

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Saturday, 8/13, 12:00 pm to 4:00 pm

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