Vintage watch expert hopes to discover more about history of pocket watch made in Inverness
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A German expert on vintage watches is hoping to uncover the history of a pocket watch which originated in Inverness.
Thomas Meine, who collects watches and has written many books on the subject, is trying to find out more about the time piece which bears the name Fehrenbach & Hoch.
Mr Meine established it dates from 1868 and according to his research, the watchmakers were living at 71 Church Street.
He discovered this is the current address for Abertarff House – the city’s oldest house dating back to 1593 and now owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).
Mr Meine, a retired investment banker, has said if he can establish it was the same address at the time the watch was made, he will donate it to the NTS.
"It runs extremely well and is not only technically but also optically in a very good condition," he said.
"In those days, there was no ‘real’ watchmaking any more in the sense that the watch was completely made by the watchmaker.
"The parts were pre-fabricated, the case, the dial and often also the pendant were made elsewhere and the watchmaker made the assembly, the regulation and adjustment and perhaps some embellishments and often put his name on the dial.
"However, it does not exclude that some parts were still originally made by the watchmaker."
He said the Fehrenbach name was popular in the horological world.
"They originally came from an extremely poor region in Germany where there was not enough work to feed everyone," he said.
"They then went south to the Black Forest with its large watch and clock industry and from there spread out into the world – many of them to London and other places in the UK and, according to literature, to Inverness in Scotland."
During his research, he also came across a newspaper article, referring to a watch stolen from the Dingwall shop of a watchmaker called Fehrenbach.
Mr Meine – whose collection ranges from grandfather clocks to watches – said finding out more about their history was often more exciting than the piece itself.
