The Vintage Wrist Watch Company

Description

Antique silver hot air balloonist’s pocket barometer / altimeter.

The barometer measures 48mm diameter excluding the stem and loop. This particular example is unusual in that it has a silver case. It is in lovely condition with nice crisp engine turned detail to the back. Central cartouche to the centre with ornate initials, together with the date 1920.

The glass lens is in lovely condition.

The silvered dial with original blued steel pointer is signed with the name of the Leeds optician, H Manley, the original retailer of the barometer.

The dial includes an altimeter which measures up to 4000 ft. To measure your height you rotate the outer chapter ring by pressing the crown in and turning until the hand is aligned with the zero (assuming you are at sea level), then as you climb, the hand moves due to the fall in air pressure and you will be able to read off the height you have reached.

This type of barometer was often used to guage the height on a mountain, in a hot air balloon or airplane, or even by miners to determine the depth of a mine. Taking into account the fact that the case is silver and that it is in beautiful condition, hot air ballooning is probably the more likely option.

The dial also includes the word ‘compensated’, this indicates that this barometer adjusts the reading for changes in temperature, thereby giving a more accurate reading, and again falling in line with hot air ballooning.

The barometer comes in an antique presentation case.

ALL PRICES INCLUDE UK POSTAGE.

Please contact us for international shipping prices.

The Vintage Wrist Watch Company operates on a Delivery Duty Unpaid (DDU) basis which means that the international buyer is responsible for any import duties, taxes & customs which may be necessary to release an order from international customs. Tax and import duty varies from country to country so we recommend you check with your local tax office to see if any fees will be payable. If the customer refuses to pay any duty and customs charges and the parcel is returned to sender all shipping and associated charges will be deducted from any refund.

Due to Customs regulations, we are unable to send watches / precious metals to certain countries. If you are unsure about your country’s regulations, please contact us and we can check for you. Any orders from prohibited countries will be refunded, less any Paypal fees which are non-refundable.

All of our watches are checked over before listing, and are also checked for accuracy which is usually within around +/- two to three minutes over 24 hours (unless otherwise stated), which is considered respectable for a vintage watch.

We are a VAT registered company and all purchases are covered by Consumer Regulations.

Credit / debit card purchases can be made over the telephone on 01386 750238 or you can proceed via the \'Buy Securely\' button on each listing page.

We are an on-line only business and do not have facilities for callers. Our offices are open from Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.

With regards to appraisals / valuations, we receive a huge number of information requests each day and unfortunately do not have the manpower to deal with them all individually. Our advice would be to contact a local auctioneer for a full appraisal.