Front, Back, Case mark, Movement, Angle view of movement, Setting with crown in, Setting with crown out

This wonderful little watch was cased and presumably sold by the same jeweler as the Maximus A Matalene Patent watch.

This example is the elusive Patrician grade that appears to have been a special grade for Matalene and is rather higher in quality than the Maximus grade in the very small sizes.

This watch is a 9 ligne Patrician with a solid gold wheel train and diamond endstones on the balance. The jewel settings are all bright gold and the watch is 17 jewel. The serial number is 18119663. It is from a run of 300 watches. Conventional dating would put this run in 1908, but the case numbers have been catalogued and date it to 1917. *

The case is 14K wire lug with Matalene's patent setting mechanism. The patent date of Apr. 6, 1912 is marked in the back of the case with the 14K mark. The maker's mark does not appear. The case serial number is 4145.

This is the first complete and intact example I have seen. There was another in the 2004 Time Museum Sale at Sotheby's with a different Matalene patent case having damaged enamel in what I think was a 6/0 size.

Note from Jerry Treiman:
Let me offer some corrections for your web page. This wristwatch was actually cased around 1917, based on the case number. This movement was used in pendant and ladies wristwatches, with many cased by Matalene. However, unmarked movements of equivalent grade were also cased by Depollier and others. (see attached example). This movement is probably equal to the Maximus, but I doubt it is better. The 9-ligne is a curious movement of rather limited production and it is not included in any of the Waltham material catalogs, although it does appear in the screw and mainspring charts. It would be a nightmare to try to find parts for these - even the balance staff is not listed. Without seeing this one in hand I would guess that it has a sapphire endstone, not diamond -- I have seen Patricians with diamonds, but not on movements smaller than 6/0. Waltham sold these (Matalene) watches through quite a number of different jewelers. Your Maximus A, for instance, was sold through Theo Starr, but there is no telling who sold the wristwatch. I have also seen them marked on the dial for Shreve and several other high-end jewelers, but more often than not they are unmarked. J.T.