1

A Day
Observed

A story presented by

Scene 1:
‘Morning’

It was a bright cold day with glassy surfaces that looked hard.
Into the square frame he stood as if in a dream.

What emerged was precisely what he expected to find: a reflection of memory images. Contemplating his face in the photo frame he waited.

1960s lucite and chrome 3 image photo frame

By the steady hands of his watch, he listened to time. Every day for the past sixteen days he saw her. Silver lingered in the crease of
an open book.

Rolex burlwood dial, Jubilee bracelet Miniature
oar English university trophy, sterling silver.

So absorbed in his thoughts
he hardly saw the platinum catch-all, the key, or the revelation locked inside those lapis lazuli cufflinks tossed unmistakably in cold blue.

Hans Hanson catch-all. Mid-century, Danish sterling silver. Stirrup money clip, by Hermès. Padlock keyring, sterling silver " Tie bar-slide " Round lapis lazuli cufflinks" Square cufflinks, two tone rose and yellow gold, diamond."

Only by whirling on his heel could he hope to comprehend
the panorama.

Shoe horn, circa 1930. American sterling silver
Scene 2:
‘Noon’

He remained.Trapped in that enormous room,
unmistakably familiar in feeling yet so peculiar.

Above the mantle was
displayed an Austrian hound
of impeccable integrity.

Hagenauer sculpture, 1930

His gaze fell on the letter opener. By accident she had learnt more about his life from the contents of that letter than anywhere.

Dunhill letter opener with lighter top, circa 1950

Cleopatra’s eye reflected
the sun. Through the hypnotism
of precious metals there
emerged a dark slender shadow.

Cleopatra’s eye magnifying glass. Mid-century, gold plated
Hermès weighted pen. Silver plated.

A lighter presented itself, smooth to the touch
it gave the impression of
intelligent company.

Table lighter St Dupont, circa 1960. Gold plate
Scene 3:
‘Evening’

All this time light was receding from the room.

“I should explain why I spend so much time here”, said the silhouette. Leaves moved like shadows across her eyes.

Hermès rope bottle opener. Plated silver.

It’s not too late to turn back. Time moved with faint sounds.

Venini hourglass. Hand-blown lurid Murano glass.

He unscrewed the telescopic cup, rolled and remained still. Black eyes on the dice prophesied a new cycle.

Telescopic cup, J. E. Cauldwell. Gold plated. Dice,
Cartier for America. Vitreous enamel glass, silver

Staring down at the varnished surface her mouth worried him while her eyes examined the gold cufflink.

Audemar Piguet evening watch. gold plated, Roman dial, alligator strap
Scene 4:
‘Night’

Everything went crashing black.

Pale graceful hands placed
the gold stud box delicately
on the table.

Men’s Edwardian jewellery box, 1910. Gold plated.
Mid-century British cigar ashtray. Sterling silver and crystal.

He lit a match to make sure the watch had really stopped. Smoke lingered from its vesta case.

Realist wrapped tobacco leaf march vesta. Silver.

As the travel clock neared
one the figure vanished into dappled shadows.

Art Deco Jaeger LeCoultre travel clock.
Gold and silver plated. Retailed by Aspray.

On the newly varnished table two bronze shot cups sat alive like in a dream.

Tooth shot cup by Foundwell. Bronze and silver plated.
Set of 4, 3 silver 1 gold. Heath & Midleton champagne decanters circa 1900.
Sterling silver and glass.
The End

‘A DAY OBSERVED’
A story by FOUNDWELL
Photography Matthieu Lavanchy, creative direction OK-RM,
notes by Kate O’Brien and objects selected by Alan Bedwell

‘A DAY OBSERVED’
A story by FOUNDWELL
Photography Matthieu Lavanchy,
creative direction OK-RM
notes by Kate O’Brien
and objects selected by Alan Bedwell

Early and Rare Sterling Silver Gorham Martini Mixing Bucket

Golf Cocktail Shaker
and Matching Golf Bag Cup

Sterling Silver Woven Bottle Coaster

Foundwell

A SELECTION OF ITEMS BY THE PRODUCER OF
CRAFTED GOODS & PURVEYOR OF ANTIQUE WATCHES,
JEWELLERY & OTHER SUCH OBJECTS

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A stainless steel backed, gold plated Tudor Oyster Prince model.   This very handsome, and early Tudor comes from the pioneering and exciting days of both Tudor, and its parent brand; Rolex.  This Tudor features the iconic font style, along with the early, very small Tudor Rose logo.  The overall appearance of the dial of this watch is exceptional.  It has everything one looks for from a vintage watch from the late 1940's/early 1950's; patina, original hands, original radium luminous material present in both hands and on the dial, and the blued steel center sweep.  A detail that harks back to classic horological techniques.  

The design of this watch is also rather important given what we know developed at Rolex in the early 1950's.  The development of the Rolex Explorer, and its use in Sir Edmund Hillary, and Sherpa Tenzing ascent to the top of mount Everest in 1953. This dial contains some of the characteristics of the early watches that went both up the mountain, and that went on to become the Explorer we recognise today; the arrow head markers were present on Hillary's watch (obviously not signed Explorer at that point) seen on the reference 6098.  The blue center sweep hand. The applied 12, 3, 6, 9 Arabic numerals to the dial, as seen on the 6298.  The 12 would then disappear to make room for the large triangle, which  provided much better visibility in that prominent position.  All of these elements contributed to the eventual birth of the Explorer. 

The watch is powered by the seventeen jewel caliber 390  automatic movement with beautiful butterfly rotor.  This caliber was actually   made by  Rolex and based on the caliber 1530 movement. These movements were considered the best ever vintage calibers used in Tudor watches. This  caliber was only produced for a short period of time, before the switch to ETA based ebauches occurred, which became the nrom going forward.  The movement in its own right  is rather valuable, as it is exactly the same as used in the Tudor Submariner gilt dial references from this period.

This watch is a wonderful part of the Tudor, and to some degree Rolex evolutionary tale.  The gold plated case and steel back is a common production feature from this time, as there was a need to produce watches that gave the appearance of gold, without being solid gold, and also not needing to gold plate elements that were not to be seen once on the wrist.  This was still very early days after the ravages of World War Two.  The serial and model number on the watch are present still on the exterior case back of the watch, and were not engraved in between the lugs, as later became the case.  There is also the addition of a hand engraved personalisation on the case back.  The original screw down "Oyster Patent" crown is original to watch, and still screws down cleanly.

Overall, a stunning looking vintage watch.  The case has been polished, and indeed re-plated at some point, but this is to be expected in order to match the beauty of the dial.  The gold plating would likely have worn off in parts.  However, it has been done well, and brings the watch to life.  The dial is all original, as are the hands.  The "Swiss Made" is present below the chapter ring at the six o'clock position.  The look of this piece on the wrist is superb, and represents an excellent watch for anyone looking for a real 'vintage' watch.


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Item Dimensions
Case Size
1.34 inches (3.4036cm)