Time for battle....

[Chris Boonzaier]

A couple of watches.... first off a watch with protectice cover to a guy from reserve infanterie regiment 222

[Chris Boonzaier]

A pice I love, found at Verdun... no detector or anything, just peaking through the mud where a Bulldozer had driven through....

[dond]

I think he perhaps ran out of time.

[Hoss]

Like the key wind Chris look it up on sites see when it was made, cool items.

Eric

[Chris Boonzaier]

The Verdun find was made by a Swiss Watchmaker who moved to Germany in the 19th Century. It was in the Chapitre Wald, going down to the Bazil schlucht.

My eyes almost popped out when I saw it.

[Chris Liontas]

WOW!! If only that watch could talk!

[Chris Boonzaier]

I just picked up this "trench watch"... It seems to be the standard name for WW1 era wristwatches of this sort. Apparently from the Haller company,

[Hoss]

Cool those watches are actually shown in period footage.

Eric

[Chris Boonzaier]

Hi,

for the wristwatches, they seem to be a style that came out just before the war, The Brits and Germans had very similar ones...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trench_watch

[120RIR]

Since we're on the subject of watches here are mine.  I especially like the one with the bullet hole.  It passes completely through and totally destroyed the case and movement.  The movement was probably Swiss but the case is German (as evidenced by the German silversmith's touch marks).  The one in the upper right has a plain blued steel case and radium dial.  It's of Swiss manufacture and I'm assuming WWI period and saw German use?  The example on the lower right is the same patriotic case as Chris Boonzier shows - the watch was made by W. Becker and Cie. of Hamburg on a 1916 "Iron for Gold" chain.  The fob is, I think, the really interesting part.  Can anyone shed light on what the symbolism means?  Four stacked skulls and the wording  "WER WAR BETTLER, UND WAR WEISER, WER DER KOENIG, WER WAR KAISER" and there is an Egyptian sphinx on the other side.  Loosely translated it comes out to something like this: Who was the beggar and who was wiser, who is the king who was the Kaiser.  There's obviously some kind of context I'm missing.  Any ideas?

Edited July 12, 2015 by 120RIR
Typos

[Hoss]

Thanks Brian you always show nice gear. Try German Illuminism on the fob.

Eric

Edited July 14, 2015 by Hoss

[Eric K.]

Hey Chris did you find both the pocketwatch and the protective cover together?

[KIR]

.....Can anyone shed light on what the symbolism means?  Four stacked skulls and the wording  "WER WAR BETTLER, UND WAR WEISER, WER DER KOENIG, WER WAR KAISER" and there is an Egyptian sphinx on the other side.  Loosely translated it comes out to something like this: Who was the beggar and who was wiser, who is the king who was the Kaiser.  There's obviously some kind of context I'm missing.  Any ideas?

Hi 120RIR,

take a look here: Bavarian Illuminati - Skull and Bones

"From the German Chapter. Presented by Patriarch D.C. Gilman of D. 50". Above the vault is a German engraving which translates to, “Who was the fool, who the wise man, beggar or king?” This parallels the Bavarian Illuminati initiation ritual in which the initiate is presented with a human skeleton and asked if it is the skeleton of a king, a nobleman or a beggar. "

Best regards,

Jens

[120RIR]

Illuminati...well I'll be damned.  Thanks for the insight!