In 1882, Armando Río y Cuervo and his brothers ran a watch-making workshop founded by their uncle Ramón in Havana. Cuervos y Sobrinos soon became a reference and a rival for the most prestigious watchmakers of New York, Paris and Rome. In the 1940s, Havana became the meeting point for intellectuals, businessmen and artists from all over the world, and Cuervo y Sobrinos produced their own watches while continuing to sell the most famous watch-making names. Einstein, Caruso, Churchill, Hemingway, Gable and Neruda all became faithful clients of this illustrious brand. Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Marlene Dietrich, Gary Cooper, Santo Trafficante Jr, Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, Dorothy Dandridge, Joanne Gilbert and Tony Martin were only a few additional stars and well known individuals AND GANGSTERS who were patrons of Cuervos y Sobrinos...

HABANA NIGHT LIFE

Following World War I,  MANY NIGHT CLUBS AND CASINOS SOON DOTTED HABANA [HAVANA] NIGHT LIFE. Wealthy Americans and international stars and public persona traveled and splurged and habana soon became one of the most popular places in the world. And even through the  Repeal and Great Depression, places like the San Souci never completely closed down.

During the late 40's and through the 50's, injections of cash for lavish shows and elaborate gaming facilities made habana the top destination for the royalty of the public and private world.

Night Club/Casinos like the Sans Souci spent upwards of   $25,000 a week just for the shows that glittered the stages and thrilled the wealthy.

"It's was like stepping into a movie set of what Hollywood thinks a tropical night club should look like" ....

... and through it all, thick and thin, the greatest Latino Cuban Watch & Jewelry House, Quervo Y Sobrinos Habana,  remained the anchor of LUXURY, QUALITY, CLASS & SERVICE...

METICULOUSLY
RESTORED DIAL
WITH
ROMAN NUMERALS
AND
ARABIC
SUB-SECONDS
REGISTER

TOP-SIDE
ORIGINAL OVERHAULED
LONGINES MOVEMENT
SERIAL#
3778146

RESTORED DIAL IS READY TO MOUNT

RESTORED
LONGINES DIAL
IS
SIGNED AS THE ORIGINAL

LONGINES
CUERVO Y SOBRINOS
UNICOS
IMPORTADORES

[IMPORTED EXCLUSIVELY]

ORIGINAL DIAL IS INCLUDED IN THIS APPRAISAL

ORIGINAL CASE IS IN EXCELLENT CONDITION

 THE CASE IS 900 SILVER
[90% SILVER 10% COPPER]

THE CASE BACK AND EDGING
ARE CARVED
FLOWERS
&
BUTTERFLIES
&
INLAID WITH
NIELLO

Niello is a black metallic alloy of sulfur, copper, silver, and usually lead, used as an inlay on engraved metal. It can be used for filling in designs cut from metal. The Egyptians are credited with originating niello decoration, which spread throughout Europe during the late Iron age and is common in Anglo-Saxon, Celtic and other types of Early Medieval jeweler.

The goldsmiths of Florence in the middle of the 15th century ornamented their works by means of engraving the metal with a burin, after which they filled up the hollows produced by the burin with a black enamel-like compound made of silver, lead and sulphur. The resulting design, called a niello, was of much higher contrast and thus much more visible,.

During the 10th to 13th century A.D. Kievan Rus craftsmen possessed a high degree of skill in jewelry making; John Tsetses, a 12th century Byzantine writer praised the work of Kievan Rus craftsmen and likened their work to the creations of Daedalus, the highly skilled craftsman from Greek Mythology.

Niello was used on a variety of object including sword hilts, chalices, plates, horns, adornment for horses, and most prolifically, jewelry for women: necklaces, bracelets, rings, torques, pendants, buttons, belt buckles, headdresses, etc.

The Kievan Rus technique for niello application was first shaping silver or gold by repoussé, embossing, and casting. They would high relief objects and fill the background with niello using a mixture of red copper, lead, silver, potash, borax, sulphur which was liquefied and poured into concave surfaces before being baked in a furnace. The heat from the furnace would blacken the niello and allow other ornamentation to stand out more vividly.

Nielloed items were mass produced using molds that still survive today and were traded with Greeks, the Byzantine Empire, and other peoples that traded along the trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks.

CASE BEZEL HAS SOME MINOR EDGING WEAR

THE NIELLO IS 95%.

SOME MINOR WEAR AROUND THE HINGE

HAND MADE ORIGINAL 1915  LINK  & BAR WATCH FOB!

INNER SIGNED CUVETTE
[DUST COVER]
WITH
7 GRAND PRIX
AWARDS
IN SILVER
&
5 AWARDS IN GOLD

SILVER CARTOUCHE HALLMARK
&
0.900
(90% SILVER)

SILVER CASE
SIGNED
0.900
[90% SILVER]
&
SIGNED
N3778164

THE SAME SERIALS THE MOVEMENT

  THE CASE SERIAL #3778164 IS THE SAME SERIAL THAT IS SIGNED ON THE TOP AND BOTTOM PLATE ON THIS LONGINES SIGNED CALIBRE 15.93 [SIGNED UNDER THE JEWELED BALANCE] 15 JEWEL MOVEMENT