Skip to main content

Watch: M/P.71 & A & B-1913

Object information

Current Location: In storage

Maker(s)

Maker: Unknown

Entities

Categories

Description

Verge repeating watch, in enamel case set with pearls and diamonds, with chatelaine.

MOVEMENT: Full plate movement, not named. Balance bridge chased and pierced with radial 'tulip'design. Polished steel coquette. Brass balance. Silver regulation dial engraved 'AVANCE' and 'RETARD'. Blued steel hand. Plain curved fusee cock. Polished steel set-up wheel and click. Top plate engraved with runner regulation scale with 'V' and 'L'. Rectangular fusee iron post with radiused end. Polished steel case bolt with angled end, spring under dial, nib under dial. Adjustable potance. Counter-potance, inside contrate wheel arbour, with polished steel end piece. Polished steel hour and quarter hammers. Repeating barrel with spring end outside. Pillar plate with four turned pillars, centre wheel recessed, double ended 'third wheel bridge' cock and contrate doubled ended cock. Hinge block scratched '135'. Fusee and chain, set-up click on top plate, barrel with one lip. Verge escapement. Train planted clockwise, nearly radial. Runners planted clockwise, last wheel moved to adjust speed.

REPEATING WORK: Polished steel 1/4 work, chain driven over pulley. Hour snail and star wheel mounted under all or nothing lever.

BRASS EDGE: Chased edge, secured to plate by three latch screws. Scratched under pendant '135'.

DIAL: White enamel on copper, counter enamel scored '135', two feet. Line minute ring, vertical Arabic quarter figures, dot 5 minute marks, vertical Arabic chapters. Winding hole at 2 o'clock.

HANDS: Gold minute stamped brass hour hand, Louis XV style.

BELL: Covering movement (not removed).

CASE: Gold, consular, enamelled and set with pearls and brilliants. Glass with labels. Bezel and body set with outer ring of pearls, forty-eight on bezel and forty-seven on body. Back with enamel and gold ring pattern with fifteen set diamonds, around polychrome painted enamel of the 'The Moralist' after Morland, with a translucent deep blue sky over turned rings. Plain gold pendant, cheese-shaped top stamped twice with an eagle (?), with beak facing to the right. Plain stirrup bow.

PROTECTIVE CASE (A): Brass, gilt, plain, glazed body.

CHATELAINE (B): Rectangular polychrome painted enamel plaque of girl playing flute, back with enamelled pattern, in gold frame hinged to gold clip. Clip with assay mark (?) and maker's mark 'E G', with a standard rose tree between, in lozenge. Four gold chains to oval polychrome painted plaque of girl sitting with two dogs by a river, in oval gold frame, engraved brass back. Three gold chains to bar with safety hook for watch, with chain to uncut seal, with enamelled handle, on left and chain with watch key, with enamelled handle on right.

Legal notes

Bequeathed by Frank Gray Smart

Place(s) associated

  • Geneva ⪼ Switzerland

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Bequeathed (1913-06-05) by Smart, Frank Gray

Dating

18th Century
Production date: circa AD 1790

Components of the work

Chatelaine composed of enamel ( plaques) gold Length 183 mm Width 42 mm
Case composed of brilliants pearls
Dial, Back composed of enamel
Dial composed of copper
Case, Minute Hand composed of gold
Hour Hand composed of gold
Movement composed of silver steel
Movement, Chatelaine composed of brass (alloy)
Case Bottom composed of glass
Movement (top Plate) Diameter 36 mm
Movement (pillar Plate) Diameter 37 mm
Movement (brass Edge) Diameter 42.25 mm
Inner Case Diameter 50 mm Height 63 mm Thickness 21.25 mm
Protective Case Diameter 55 mm Thickness 19 mm
Movement (pillar) Height 3 mm
Dial, Case

Inscription or legends present

  • Text: '135'
  • Location: Movement, brass edge, dial
  • Method of creation: Scratched
  • Type: Number
  • Text: 'ds.v' '420' and '84/-/-'
  • Location: Label in case glass
  • Method of creation: Isncribed
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: 'Gold and enl watch & chatelaine, the watch enld (?) with "The Moralist after Morland".'
  • Location: Label in case glass
  • Method of creation: Inscribed
  • Type: Inscription
  • Text: 'E G' with rose tree between, in lozenge
  • Location: Chatelaine
  • Type: Maker's mark

References and bibliographic entries

Identification numbers

Accession number: M/P.71 & A & B-1913
Primary reference Number: 207238
Stable URI

Audit data

Created: Thursday 3 December 2015 Updated: Wednesday 14 March 2018 Last processed: Friday 8 December 2023

Associated departments & institutions

Owner or interested party: The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department: Applied Arts

Citation for print

This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:

The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Watch" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/207238 Accessed: 2024-12-18 21:27:57

Citation for Wikipedia

To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:

{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/207238 |title=Watch |author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-12-18 21:27:57|publisher=The University of Cambridge}}

API call for this record

To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:

https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-207238

Sign up for updates

Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...