The inside caseback is signed by Cyma, a sister company to Tavannes that is believed to have been created by executives as it was shorter and easier to say than Tavannes.īeyond the story, the look of this watch is truly stunning. All of this matches up, Candian company, Canadian jeweler, making this undoubtedly a Candian Tavannes pocket watch. Mappins is a Canadian jeweler that is still in operation today and traces its roots back to the famed UK based Mappin & Webb. Furthermore, a retailer signature is found above the sub-seconds dial. A quick google reveals this firm operated out of Montreal and was at its height in the first half of the 20th Century. Text wrapping around the upper portion of the dial hints the this pocket watch was given as a gift to an employee of 25 years at Abiti Power & Paper Company, Limited. Accompanying the Tavannes dial signature is, well, a lot of text and, with it, a bit of a story. This pocket watch is triple signed by Tavannes on the movement, case, and dial, and likely dates to the late 1930s or early 1940s, when the brand was at its height. The best example of this third-party manufacturing is Tavannes' involvement as the maker of many early JLC Reversos, but the brand also worked with names like Hermès, Dunhill, and Zenith. After a fire destroyed some of the brand's manufacturing facilities in 1940, Tavannes focused on working behind the scenes of Swiss watchmaking by producing movement calibers and even whole watches to be signed and marketed by other brand names. By 1938, Tavannes advertising materials touted its production and sale of over 30,000,000 watches – yes 30 million watches.
![tavannes watch 8752113 tavannes watch 8752113](https://harmoncatalog.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/TAV.jpg)
The brand traces its roots back to 1891 and came to prominence in the first few decades of the 20th century, an era of watchmaking often overlooked by vintage collectors today. Tavannes may not be a name many collectors have heard it's a bit of a deep cut. Why This Watch Matters Here's a slightly funky, very elegant Tavannes pocket watch from the 1950s, seemingly a gift to an employee of 25 years at a Canadian power and paper company.