Description
This is 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 create the unusual shape and decorative banding and details that go all the way around the circumference. From the grain pattern in the wood, I would guess that this is solid Oak, 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.
The little black insert on the bottom piece 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 shiny ebony 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. There is a crack in the center of the depression that extends from the middle, in a line towards both edges. As the edges turn upwards forming the sides of the oil insert, the crack stops. There are a few other small cracks that extend off of this main line, but they are very minor in comparison. The oil insert is firmly attached to the base, so I do not know if the cracks go all the way through, or if it is merely surface “crazing” as you get with the finish on ceramics and porcelain, for example. 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 7/16″ in diameter (at the base) and 1 3/4″ tall. The top cap is 1 1/4″ in diameter.
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