DESCRIPTION:
EPW - Alexander Watkins, 67 Strand, London, extraordinary miniature detent chronometer made for London's 1851 Crystal Palace Great Exhibition, 25.7mm, 18K gold OF original case bearing London hallmarks for 1850, casemaker's "J W" marking in cameo, ornate engraving detail, signed gold cuvette, engraved gold dial with multicolor floral perimeter detail, KWKS, fusee, Earnshaw type spring detent escapement with capped escape wheel, 19J, free sprung balance with helical hairspring, gilt mvt with 1851 date marking. Watch is accompanied by a fitted silver box with fancy engraved exterior that is contained within a fitted leather outer box with the following text inside its lid "Grand Exhibition of all Nations, in London, 1851. Alex. Watkins, 67, Strand, Inventory & Maker of Chronometers Extraordinary. Class X., No. 85A. The Smallest Chronometer in the World of the 3/4 plate construction, the diameter being but the size of a guinea, with hard Cylindrical Spring and Jewelled in the most costly manner with Ruby's throughout every hole. From the Official Descriptive and Illustrated Catalogue." Silver box is marked on the rear with London hallmarks for 1853 and maker's "W N" marking in cameo. A true masterpiece of watchmaking art; the present lot is likely the smallest English pocket chronometer with detent escapement ever produced. This watch was formerly a part of Seth Atwood's Rockford Time Museum collection and it is pictured and described in Anthony G. Randall's "The Time Museum Catalogue of Chronometers" with description including the text "The difficulties of making such a watch were, at the time, really formidable, and the detent escapement must be about at the practical limit for reduction in size." This watch has been in a private collection since its sale at Sothebys in 2004 with the dispersal of the Time Museum collection, and we are pleased to offer it here to the collecting community. CONDITION: Mvt: Presently ticking after a partial winding and a small twist to start but stopping intermittently and although the mechanism is intact and original its components are extraordinarily delicate and extremely prone to being set out of order, we also note that the chain has a tendency to slip from the top turn of the fusee spiral so for this reason the watch should not be fully wound to avoid unnecessary risk of damage, for these reasons and as this watch was produced as a one-off exhibition piece rather than as a timekeeper of ongoing functional utility we can not present this watch as running and can make no claim to its continued functionality...
CONDITION:
Mvt: Presently ticking after a partial winding and a small twist to start but stopping intermittently and although the mechanism is intact and original its components are extraordinarily delicate and extremely prone to being set out of order, we also note that the chain has a tendency to slip from the top turn of the fusee spiral so for this reason the watch should not be fully wound to avoid unnecessary risk of damage, for these reasons and as this watch was produced as a one-off exhibition piece rather than as a timekeeper of ongoing functional utility we can not present this watch as running and can make no claim to its continued functionality, near mint cosmetic mvt condition overall, small spot at edge of plate within "City" marking, few micro-fine scratches; excellent dial with some mild paint loss to portions of markings; near mint hands; case with small slivers of rear planchet separation, case shows hardly any wear, no dents or dings, excellent engraving detail; bow pivots semi-freely; good glass crystal; silvered box shows hardly any wear, an attractive patina to its upper portion, no dents or dings, excellent engraving detail, good glass crystal; outer box shows light wear, some scratches and mild bits of leather loss, interior is excellent with descriptive text within lid all clearly legible.
ESTIMATE:
$15000
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$30000
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