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Bespoke Coggiola
I am most interested in the creative details of watchmaking. A few months ago I saw a posting on Coggiola. It was fascinating: Sebastian Salvado, a polymath autodidact, had started a company to make bespoke wristwatches from high grade 19th Century English pocket watch chronometers...wow!!
I got in touch and quite soon we had decided on using a Victor Kullberg movement from about 1872.
I was closely involved/consulted with every aspect of the design and finish.
Really interesting crown
Completely self designed and fabricated buckle
Back view with ebony insert (reference to my playing the clarinet)
Being involved in every stage of the evolution and design adventure was most interesting. Sebastian sent me a link to a complete photographic record of the whole process. Really good pics as well! If you want to see them please PM me for a link.
Below is from Sebastian:
A high grade signed Victor Kullberg London manufactured rare 1-size watch
No. 2466, ca. 1872.
Victor Kullberg (1824-1890), 'Maker to the Admiralty', 105 Liverpool Road, London. Swedish émigré to London, would become one of England's and horology’s most celebrated watchmakers. Awarded with a multitude of gold medals at world fairs for his horological masterpieces. Kullberg had a successful company manufacturing stem wound reverse fusée pocket chronometers as well as his most famous and superb marine chronometers. Kullberg supplied England’s most famous retailers with his distinctive stem wound calibers. While his marine chronometers were supplied to the English Admiralty as is proudly displayed on this movement.
The present watch is an exceptionally rare full-hunter Kullberg signed 1-size/13 ½ ligne (30.45mm) movement. Movements manufactured by Kullberg in this size are very rare, especially with his company’s signature.
Movement Highlights:
Movement: 3/4 plate hand gilded and hand-engraved hunter movement (winding and setting at 3 o'clock). Very rare use of black-polished (mirror finish) screws throughout the movement. Setting and winding steel works with satin, brushed and snail finishing. Bright brass screw-set chaton jewels settings for escapement to fourth wheel. Square center-wheel hour pinion to set time via key (movement shows signs of its use this way) with flat concave mirror-polished steel holder.
Balance cock: Hand-engraved balance cock with floral pattern throughout. High quality deep red ruby jewel, set in polished steel chaton.
Escapement: Traditional English right-angle lever escapement. Single flat-roller impulse jewel. Polished steel club escape lever. Distinct bi-metallic compensation balance wheel with sharp-figured terminal steel ends reserved for highest quality watches. Solid gold escape wheel with steel pinion. Rare double caped jeweling on escape lever and wheel.
Keyless winding: Traditional English ratchet customized to display Kullberg’s distinct design reserved for keyless reverse fusée pocket chronometers. Signature mainspring ratchet looped spring and click, and the screw fixed mainspring ratchet wheel typical of the German and Danish watchmaking traditions.
Train: Solid brass gilded train with thick hand finished steel pinions. Solid gold escape wheel. Jeweled to the fourth wheel.
Jewels: 17 Jewels – balance work (5), escape lever (4), escape wheel (4), fourth wheel (2).
Coggiola Watch Roma Wristwatch Case, Buckle & Restoration Work:
Bespoke case order incorporating ebony into brass case.
Hand manufactured case and parts in Rome, Italy:
Case: Two-piece solid brass case with snap on dial. Ebony insert as case back bezel. Crown, stem, case crown sleeve, time setting pusher, .
Dial: Aluminum, open. Milled out minute & hour dot markers.
Buckle: Four part brass buckle, three stainless steel screws.
Case dimensions:
Diameter, without crown: 40mm
Lug to lug: 44mm.
Height, including crystal: 15mm (12mm without crystal).
Strap: 22mm width. Length: Normal. ColaReb Roma, Italy. Hand-made leather strap made in Rome.
Restoration Work: This watch was subject to the sad fate of gold smelters very recently, having appeared at auction still in its original 18K 1872 hallmarked full-hunter case as lot no. 74 at the Fellows & Sons ‘Pocket Watches & Accessories’ November 24, 2014 auction. At the moment it was removed from it’s case the top plate was scratched and balance wheel pivot badly bent. It was kept in a poor environment where the keyless winding work received moisture and rust. Restoration work included: Repairing the balance staff, replacing the hairspring (original rusted and split), new mainspring safety stop, replacement of mainspring, selective restoration of finishing, cleaning, timing.
Watch Restoration Photo Gallery
Case Manufacture Photo Gallery
Dial, Hands and Buckle Manufacture Photo Gallery
Particularities when handling this watch: When winding the watch, the safety stop will create a 'dry' stop. Do not attempt to wind past this point. It is best to set the time clock wise.
Case care instructions: Do not use abrasives to clean the case. The watch is not water proof.
Bespoke order
But here is the take your breath away moment: the whole thing was less than €1500!!
A good deal of money but, to me at least, remarkable value for a detailed insight into the creation of a bespoke timepiece.
Sebastian Salvado? A top man!!
