Huge, rare, and absolutely gorgeous, this Swiss Goliath / coach watch from the 1880s is a true statement piece with full calendar and moonphase complications. With its massive proportions, flawless white enamel dial, elegant blued steel hands, and loud, satisfying ticking, it feels less like a pocket watch and more like a portable Victorian instrument.
This example is preserved in excellent unrestored condition, with a beautiful multi-register enamel dial, original hands, matching serial numbers, and a crisp movement signed “Phoenix Indestructible, May 1886, Swiss Made.” The nickel case features a double caseback with inner dust cover, and the hinges remain impressively tight.
Specifications
Type: Goliath / coach pocket watch (open-face)
Origin: Swiss, 1880s (movement signed May 1886)
Movement signature:Phoenix Indestructible, May 1886, Swiss Made
Complications: Full calendar + moonphase
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, day of week, month, moonphase
Case: Nickel, double caseback with inner dust cover
Case condition: Excellent unrestored vintage condition, hinges tight
Dial: White hot enamel dial, four subdials, black Roman numerals
Hands: Original blued steel hands
Crystal: Thick bevelled mineral glass
Setting / adjustment: Five symmetrical pin-pushers on case sides (calendar correctors)
Serial number: #102347, matching under dial and on case
About Goliath/Coach Watches & Calendar/Moonphase
“Goliath” watches are oversized pocket/coach watches made to be carried in coaches, carriages, or used as prominent travel and desk timekeepers rather than standard waistcoat pocket pieces. Antique dealers typically describe them as larger and thicker than normal pocket watches, with the “Goliath” designation used for these extra-large formats.
Among Goliath watches, full calendar and moonphase examples are considerably rarer than plain time-only models. The combination of a giant case, complex dial layout, multiple calendar pushers, and moonphase mechanism makes these pieces especially attractive to collectors of unusual Victorian Swiss complications. Comparable specialist listings do appear from time to time, but they are distinctly less common than standard large-format Goliaths.
Servicing and Warranty
Fully serviced with disassembly in our Bristol shop
Set calendars when hour hand is at ‘3’ to ‘9’ position
The movement architecture is typical of high-grade late-19th-century Swiss production for complex pocket watches, with separate calendar work driving the day, date, month, and moonphase indications.
Day of week display (3 o’clock subdial) – changes over Midnight
Date display (9 o’clock subdial) – changes over Midnight
Month display (12 o’clock subdial) – changed only manually by pusher
Moonphase with seconds scale / running seconds (6 o’clock register) – changes over Midnight
Important Notes
Use correction pushers when hands are at 3 to 9 position to prevent mechanical conflict with movement calendar gears.
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