Description
This is really a beautiful antique item here. It’s a vintage oil cup or oiler that was used by watchmakers, watch repair people, and jewelers to hold the miniscule amounts of high grade Swiss watch oil that is used to properly oil a mechanical wristwatch or pocket watch. This oil cup is made out of solid wood and has been painstakingly turned on a lathe or carved by hand to add the decorative banding and details that go all the way around the circumference of the oil cup. From the grain pattern in the wood, I would guess that this is solid Cherry, but please understand that I’m not an expert and that’s just my best guess. I can’t make any guarantees about the wood.
The lid mates with the bottom half of the oil cup, and would provide a clean, secure environment to protect the watch oil from dust when it was sitting on the watchmakers bench. The two halves fit together perfectly so there is no play in the joint laterally. If you hold the two halves in separate hands, both sides rotate easily, so the fit is precise, but we’re not talking a hermetic vacuum seal. If you look at it under the right light, you can see where the previous owner engraved “ELGIN OIL” on the top of the lid. The marks are so light that I have to think that they were made using a needle or the tip of an oiler. From a distance of about six inches, if the oil cup is just sitting on the counter, you can’t see the engravings. But if you hold the lid up to the light and look for them, they’re there, and it adds a nice touch of antique patina to the piece. I tried to get a photograph of this, but could not get a clear shot. It’s really tricky with the lighting.
The little red insert on the bottom half is where the watch oil goes. Just a few tiny drops are all that are necessary to oil an entire watch. I’m not sure what the material is, but it is a rich ruby color. Today, the oil cups are made out of agate, synthetic ruby, or glass, if that’s helpful. The edges of the oil insert are very smooth and highly polished. In the very center of the depression, there looks to be some needle marks from where the tips of the watchmaker’s oilers (little needles, really) would have abraded the smooth surface over the years. I put a couple drops of water in the middle, and they sat right where I had put them, without any leaking or problems, so this oil cup could still be perfectly functional today, and would make a handsome old world addition to your workbench.
The dimensions are: 1 3/8″ in diameter and 3/4″ tall.
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