Beautiful and practical, this small gem is designed to protect a small pocket watch and to display it on a table or mantle when it is not being carried. The finely carved face, with its delicate design of a branch of edelweiss, opens to reveal the velvet-lined compartment and then folds under to form the footed easel stand. German or Swiss, late Nineteenth Century. Closed approximately 3-3/8 inches long by 1-5/8 inches by one inch high, the height when open is about 3-1/8 inches...

This elegant novelty once graced the lapel of a 19th Century dandy, an item both subtle ans ostentatious. In fine running condition, the winder is set an extraordinary distance above the works. The silver case is hallmarked Bern Switzerland, .935 purity.