Le Cheminant Watch Company is a brand that dates back to the first half of the 19th century. Originally a jeweller, it has since become principally a watch maker and, in the early 20th century, supplied chronometers and deck watches to the Royal Navy. Since the 1950s it has concentrated on watches and is currently based in Surrey, England.

Company history

The known references for Le Cheminant begin in February 1847, when Mr. Le Cheminant, a jeweller, has a shop at 72 Wimpole Street, London.[1] The British Museum has a rare watch paper which places him at the virtually identical address of 72A, Wimpole Street.[2] Although John Le Cheminant, "watchmaker and jeweller" died on 1 February 1876,[3] the name continued, with Le Cheminant appearing in trade directories as 'watch maker' at the same address, 72a Wimpole Street, in 1884.[4] By 1915 Le Cheminant has an address at 81 Wigmore Street, in the same London district, and was inscribing this address on its timepieces.[5]

At this time Le Cheminant was among several companies which supplied precision timepieces to the British Royal Navy. In 1909 and 1915 the Royal Navy bought chronometers costing £19 and £16 10/- that saw service on HMS Dido and HMS Titania respectively.[6] The Royal Navy also purchased deck watches from Le Cheminant – a batch of six in December 1915, costing between £5 5/- and £5 15/-, and another batch of six in December 1915, costing between £6 5/- and £6 15/-. Most of these were retired from service in the 1930s. Until then, the watches served on a variety of ships, including Motor Torpedo Boats (HTMB 033, 052 and 055); HMS L1, a British L-class submarine; P15, a Royal Navy patrol vessel, and HMS Collingwood.

By 1923 Le Cheminant had become Le Cheminant and Co, at 97 Wigmore Street on the corner of Duke Street.[7] Classified ads appeared frequently with this address in The Times until December 1933,[8] offering the reassuring information in 1927 that they had been established 100 years[9] and, in 1929, that Le Cheminant had been established in 1822,[10] significant because this date became a strong feature of the brand in later years.

By September 1957[11] Le Cheminant was bought by Suffolk-based retail watchmakers and jewellers, the Betts family. Antony, Stuart and Gordon Betts were brothers and directors of Betts (Ipswich) Ltd. The main branch of Le Cheminant, however, was at 106 Wigmore Street, and the 1967 catalogue lists branches in Norwich (17 Castle Street), Leicester (1 Odeon Arcade, Market Place) and Bristol (81, The Horsefair).

Among the Le Cheminant models at this time were ladies' watches with a variety of gold bracelets,[12] children's watches, pendant and nurses' watch. All incorporated the Incabloc shock protection system. The Master Mariner series was one of their best-known lines and some models bore a close resemblance to high-end models on the market, such as the Precision Astrochon by Ollech & Wajs and chronographs by Rotary Watches.[13]

On the retirement of the Betts family, the company was taken over by Peter Reade, who ran it in Ipswich until 2007, when it was purchased by the present owner, Stephen Grostate.

Royal Naval vessel pieces

Vessels which received Le Cheminant chronographs and deck watches from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
TypeVesselDatereference
ChronometerHMS Dido17 March 1916[14]
ChronometerHMS Titania, a submarine depot ship22 April 1916[15]
ChronometerHMS Chrysanthemum15 May 1925[15]
Deck watchHMTB 03312 January 1916[16]
Deck watchHMS Verdun13 August 1927[16]
Deck watchHM Oil Tanker War Sepoy26 August 1927[16]
Deck watchHMS Despatch23 January 1933[16]
Deck watchHMS "P15"1 April 1916[17]
Deck watchHMS Malaya5 April 1933[17]
Deck watchHMS Selkirk12 November 1934[17]
Deck watchHMTB 052[18]
Deck watchHMS/nr "L1"[18]
Deck watchHMTB 05513 January 1916[19]
Deck watchRFA War Sepoy31 May 1933[19]
Deck watchHMS Collingwood7 July 1916[20]
Deck watchHMS Resolution6 January 1928[20]
Deck watchHMS Alarm13 January 1916[21]
Deck watchHMS Obdurate30 March 1916[21]
Deck watchHMS Roxburgh17 June 1916[21]
Deck watchHMS Resolution23 December 1916[22]
Deck watchHMS Caradox11 July 1930[22]
Deck watchHMS Hermes23 October 1934[22]
Deck watchRFA Silverol27 December 1916[23]
Deck watchHMS Whitley17 September 1920[23]
Deck watchHM Tug St Martin2 May 1927[23]
Deck watchHMS Greenwich22 November 1917[24]
Deck watchHMS Durban31 August 1931[24][25]
Deck watchHMS Shark16 November 1934[24]
Deck watchHMS Acasta19 February 1936[24]
Deck watchHMS Trinidad4 February 1929[25]
Deck watchHMS Submarine E511 January 1917[26]
Deck watchHMS Surprise2 January 1917[27]
Deck watchHMTr William Hutchinson, Admiralty Trawler26 June 1918[28][27]
Deck watchHMS Ormonde5 March 1924[27]
Deck watchHMS Whitehall14 August 1928[27]

Distribution and repairs

New Le Cheminant designs are only available from the brand owner, Stephen Grostate, who also repairs existing models.[29]

References

  1. "Goods from Paris.-H. and C. Schooling." Times [London, England] 26 Apr. 1847: 11. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS184712346&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
  2. British Museum Collection. Museum No: 1967,0605.25 https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=169085&objectId=51804&partId=1
  3. The London Gazette, June 6, 1876, p.3384. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24333/page/3384/data.pdf
  4. The Business Directory of London 1884, p.393 http://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16445coll4/id/218332/rec/1
  5. http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=4757050
  6. Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant chronometers Nos.18722 and 18723 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  7. "J. H. KENYON, Ltd., Funeral Furnishers, Cremators,." Times [London, England] 5 May 1923: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS17372325&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
  8. "Tours." Times [London, England] 23 Dec. 1933: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS33892759&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
  9. "W GARSTIN and SONS. Ltd. (Tele., Mayfair 0843)." Times [London, England] 30 June 1927: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS17636574&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
  10. "Articles For Sale And Wanted." Times [London, England] 18 Dec. 1929: 26. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS436543890&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
  11. "Service Notices." Times [London, England] 4 Sept. 1957: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS17389860&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
  12. Complete catalogue reproduced: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/usedmodel/lch2_004.htm
  13. Compare pictures at http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=67614331, http://thewatchspotblog.com/?p=3858, http://thewatchspotblog.com/?p=2957
  14. Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant chronometers Nos.18722 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  15. 1 2 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant chronometers Nos.18723 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  16. 1 2 3 4 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217240 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  17. 1 2 3 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217241 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  18. 1 2 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217242 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  19. 1 2 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217243 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  20. 1 2 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217244 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  21. 1 2 3 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217245 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  22. 1 2 3 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217246 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  23. 1 2 3 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217247 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  24. 1 2 3 4 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217248 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  25. 1 2 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217249 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  26. Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217250 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  27. 1 2 3 4 Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217251 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html
  28. "Royal Navy Auxiliary Patrol ships of World War 1, based on British Warships, 1914-1919 by Dittmar and Colledge".
  29. "Le Cheminant Swiss Watches".
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.