View source for Le Cheminant

{{Short description|English watch company}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2022}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2022}}
{{multiple issues|
{{citation style|date=February 2015}}
{{prose|date=February 2015}}
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'''Le Cheminant''' Watch Company is a brand that dates back to the first half of the 19th century. Originally a jeweller, it has since become principally a watch maker and, in the early 20th century, supplied [[chronometer watch|chronometers]] and deck watches to the [[Royal Navy]]. Since the 1950s it has concentrated on watches and is currently based in [[Surrey]], England.
==Company history==
The known references for Le Cheminant begin in February 1847, when Mr. Le Cheminant, a jeweller, has a shop at 72 [[Wimpole Street]], [[London]].<ref>"Goods from Paris.-H. and C. Schooling." Times [London, England] 26 Apr. 1847: 11. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014.http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS184712346&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0
</ref> The [[British Museum]] has a rare watch paper which places him at the virtually identical address of 72A, Wimpole Street.<ref>British Museum Collection. Museum No: 1967,0605.25 https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details/collection_image_gallery.aspx?assetId=169085&objectId=51804&partId=1</ref> Although John Le Cheminant, "watchmaker and jeweller" died on 1 February 1876,<ref>The London Gazette, June 6, 1876, p.3384. https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/24333/page/3384/data.pdf</ref> the name continued, with Le Cheminant appearing in trade directories as 'watch maker' at the same address, 72a Wimpole Street, in 1884.<ref>The Business Directory of London 1884, p.393 http://leicester.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16445coll4/id/218332/rec/1</ref> By 1915 Le Cheminant has an address at 81 [[Wigmore Street]], in the same London district, and was inscribing this address on its timepieces.<ref>http://www.christies.com/lotfinder/LotDetailsPrintable.aspx?intObjectID=4757050</ref>
At this time Le Cheminant was among several companies which supplied precision timepieces to the British [[Royal Navy]]. In 1909 and 1915 the Royal Navy bought chronometers costing £19 and £16 10/- that saw service on {{HMS|Dido|1896|6}} and {{HMS|Titania}} respectively.<ref>Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the [[Royal Observatory, Greenwich|Royal Observatory]], [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]], London, UK. Le Cheminant chronometers Nos.18722 and 18723 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref> The Royal Navy also purchased deck watches{{clarify|date=May 2015}} from Le Cheminant – a batch of six in December 1915, costing between £5 5/- and £5 15/-, and another batch of six in December 1915, costing between £6 5/- and £6 15/-. Most of these were retired from service in the 1930s. Until then, the watches served on a variety of ships, including [[Motor Torpedo Boats]] (HTMB 033, 052 and 055); {{HMS|L1}}, a [[British L-class submarine]]; ''P15'', a [[List of patrol vessels of the Royal Navy|Royal Navy patrol vessel]], and {{HMS|Collingwood|1908|6}}.
By 1923 Le Cheminant had become Le Cheminant and Co, at 97 Wigmore Street on the corner of [[Duke Street, St James's|Duke Street]].<ref>"J. H. KENYON, Ltd., Funeral Furnishers, Cremators,." Times [London, England] 5 May 1923: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS17372325&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0</ref> Classified ads appeared frequently with this address in The Times until December 1933,<ref>"Tours." Times [London, England] 23 Dec. 1933: 2. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS33892759&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0</ref> offering the reassuring information in 1927 that they had been established 100 years<ref>"W GARSTIN and SONS. Ltd. (Tele., Mayfair 0843)." Times [London, England] 30 June 1927: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=&docId=CS17636574&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0</ref> and, in 1929, that Le Cheminant had been established in 1822,<ref>"Articles For Sale And Wanted." Times [London, England] 18 Dec. 1929: 26. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS436543890&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0</ref> significant because this date became a strong feature of the brand in later years.
By September 1957<ref>"Service Notices." Times [London, England] 4 Sept. 1957: 1. The Times Digital Archive. Web. 23 Oct. 2014. http://find.galegroup.com/ttda/infomark.do?&source=gale&prodId=TTDA&userGroupName=surttda&tabID=T003&docPage=article&searchType=AdvancedSearchForm&docId=CS17389860&type=multipage&contentSet=LTO&version=1.0</ref> Le Cheminant was bought by Suffolk-based retail watchmakers and jewellers, the Betts family. Antony, Stuart and Gordon Betts were brothers and directors of Betts (Ipswich) Ltd. The main branch of Le Cheminant, however, was at 106 Wigmore Street, and the 1967 catalogue lists branches in [[Norwich]] (17 Castle Street), [[Leicester]] (1 Odeon Arcade, Market Place) and [[Bristol]] (81, The Horsefair).
Among the Le Cheminant models at this time were ladies' watches with a variety of gold bracelets,<ref>Complete catalogue reproduced: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/usedmodel/lch2_004.htm</ref> children's watches, pendant and nurses' watch. All incorporated the [[Incabloc shock protection system]]. The Master Mariner series was one of their best-known lines and some models bore a close resemblance to high-end models on the market, such as the Precision Astrochon by [[Ollech & Wajs]] and chronographs by [[Rotary Watches]].<ref>Compare pictures at http://orologi.forumfree.it/?t=67614331, http://thewatchspotblog.com/?p=3858, http://thewatchspotblog.com/?p=2957</ref>
On the retirement of the Betts family, the company was taken over by Peter Reade, who ran it in Ipswich until 2007, when it was purchased by the present owner, Stephen Grostate.
== Royal Naval vessel pieces ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+ Vessels which received Le Cheminant chronographs and deck watches from the Royal Observatory, Greenwich
|-
! Type !! Vessel !! Date !! reference
|-
| Chronometer || [[HMS Dido (1896)|HMS Dido]] || 17 March 1916 || <ref>Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant chronometers Nos.18722 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Chronometer || HMS Titania, a submarine depot ship || 22 April 1916 || <ref name="Nos.18723">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant chronometers Nos.18723 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Chronometer || [[HMS Chrysanthemum (1917)|HMS Chrysanthemum]] || 15 May 1925 || <ref name="Nos.18723" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMTB 033 || 12 January 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217240">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217240 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || [[HMS Verdun (L93)|HMS Verdun]] || 13 August 1927 ||  <ref name="Watch No. 217240" />
|-
| Deck watch || HM Oil Tanker War Sepoy || 26 August 1927 || <ref name="Watch No. 217240" />
|-
| Deck watch || [[HMS Despatch (D30)|HMS Despatch]] || 23 January 1933 || <ref name="Watch No. 217240" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS "P15" || 1 April 1916 ||  <ref name="Watch No. 217241">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217241 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || [[HMS Malaya]] || 5 April 1933 || <ref name="Watch No. 217241" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Selkirk || 12 November 1934 ||  <ref name="Watch No. 217241" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMTB 052 || || <ref name="Watch No. 217242">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217242 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS/nr "L1" || || <ref name="Watch No. 217242" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMTB 055 || 13 January 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217243">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217243 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || RFA War Sepoy || 31 May 1933 || <ref name="Watch No. 217243" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Collingwood || 7 July 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217244">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217244 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Resolution || 6 January 1928 || <ref name="Watch No. 217244" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Alarm || 13 January 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217245">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217245 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Obdurate || 30 March 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217245" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Roxburgh || 17 June 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217245" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Resolution || 23 December 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217246">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217246 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Caradox || 11 July 1930 || <ref name="Watch No. 217246" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Hermes || 23 October 1934 || <ref name="Watch No. 217246" />
|-
| Deck watch || RFA Silverol || 27 December 1916 || <ref name="Watch No. 217247">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217247 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Whitley || 17 September 1920 || <ref name="Watch No. 217247" />
|-
| Deck watch || HM Tug St Martin || 2 May 1927 || <ref name="Watch No. 217247" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Greenwich || 22 November 1917 || <ref name="Watch No. 217248">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217248 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Durban || 31 August 1931 || <ref name="Watch No. 217248" /><ref name="Watch No. 217249" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Shark || 16 November 1934 || <ref name="Watch No. 217248" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Acasta || 19 February 1936 || <ref name="Watch No. 217248" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Trinidad || 4 February 1929 || <ref name="Watch No. 217249">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217249 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Submarine E51 || 1 January 1917 || <ref>Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217250 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Surprise || 2 January 1917 || <ref name="Watch No. 217251">Ledger of Receipts and Issues of Chronometers. Held by the Royal Observatory, National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, UK. Le Cheminant Deck Watch No. 217251 http://collections.rmg.co.uk/archive/objects/274122.html</ref>
|-
| Deck watch || HMTr William Hutchinson, Admiralty Trawler || 26 June 1918 || <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.naval-history.net/WW1NavyBritishShips-Dittmar4AP.htm|title=Royal Navy Auxiliary Patrol ships of World War 1, based on British Warships, 1914-1919 by Dittmar and Colledge}}</ref><ref name="Watch No. 217251" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Ormonde || 5 March 1924 || <ref name="Watch No. 217251" />
|-
| Deck watch || HMS Whitehall || 14 August 1928 || <ref name="Watch No. 217251" />
|}
==Distribution and repairs==
New Le Cheminant designs are only available from the brand owner, Stephen Grostate, who also repairs existing models.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://lecheminantswisswatches.com/index.htm|title = Le Cheminant Swiss Watches}}</ref>
==References==
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Watch brands]]