I thought members should be aware that the Bulgarian watch industry has recently started producing Anglo-Boer War themed pieces.
They have been making fake Imperial Russian and Nazi watches for many years, but appear to be branching out .....
sodimi-86 is the seller of the two Kruger watches shown below.
The back of the first example seems at first to depict a Boer with rifle, but the Swiss makers Holy Freres produced these as patriotic pieces during WWI.
The last example is now in my collection. The watch itself appears to be correct, carrying South African scenes, and with the name "A.J. Gouws 18 April 1880 Jansenville" scratched on the inside cover. It came from a well-respected South African collection, purchased through a reputable Johannesburg auction house. The odd portrait of "Joubert" (looking nothing like General Joubert, young or old) appears to have been added to "enhance" the watch's value. Closer inspection shows that the dial has some form of plastic coating, and is not cold to the touch (as an authentic enamel dial would be). I only recently noticed this when I took a better look at it after seeing the other watches emanating from Sofia.
..
They have been making fake Imperial Russian and Nazi watches for many years, but appear to be branching out .....
sodimi-86 is the seller of the two Kruger watches shown below.
The back of the first example seems at first to depict a Boer with rifle, but the Swiss makers Holy Freres produced these as patriotic pieces during WWI.
The last example is now in my collection. The watch itself appears to be correct, carrying South African scenes, and with the name "A.J. Gouws 18 April 1880 Jansenville" scratched on the inside cover. It came from a well-respected South African collection, purchased through a reputable Johannesburg auction house. The odd portrait of "Joubert" (looking nothing like General Joubert, young or old) appears to have been added to "enhance" the watch's value. Closer inspection shows that the dial has some form of plastic coating, and is not cold to the touch (as an authentic enamel dial would be). I only recently noticed this when I took a better look at it after seeing the other watches emanating from Sofia.
..
