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A rare silver paired-cased…
Auction House:
Auction Location:
Melbourne
Date:
22-Oct-2024
Lot No.
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Description:
A rare silver paired-cased pocket watch, maker Joseph Windmills English circa 1678 4.5 cm diameter, 5.5 cm high, case diameter 5.2 cm. A rare silver paired-cased pocket watch, maker Joseph Windmills. English circa 1678. Plain silver outer case, 52 mm diameter, with early square hinge. The inner plain silver case has a stirrup bow, and split bezel. The silver champleve dial has Roman numerals, centred by a one-piece rosette, a finely shaped single hand, and a brass edge. The movement bears a full signature and a balance cock with its table openly pieced (to show the newly introduced balance spring?) and decorated with an English rose centre and open Dutch tulips, and with decorated rim, with its foot very open but no longer oval in shape. the balance wheel is steel, three arm, with a spring of 1 1/2 - 1 3/4 turns. Verge escapement with eight turn fusee and chain drive, and a spring barrel said to be of about the earliest date at which makers stopped flanging barrels at bottom as well as at top. The pillars are exotically scrolled open tulip style. Provenance: Purchased by Norman Dean at Sotheby's London 27 November 1972 for 800 Pounds (lot 216). One of only a very few watches to be illustrated and mentioned in the introduction to the catalogue. Reference: Britten lists Joseph Windmills as a great clockmaker who was made a brother of the Clockmakers Company in 1671 and Master in 1702, "well known as good maker clocks and watches". Neale in his book says "A minute book of the Clockmakers Company has the earliest mention of Joseph Windmills so far. At its Quarter Court meeting on 29 September 1671, 'Joseph Windmills a great clockmaker was admitted and sworn Brother of this Company. ' His trade, year of entry and status in the Company was the same as that of Thomas Tompion and of Daniel Quare. To be admitted in this way, not by a CC apprenticeship, implies that each of them was already free of some other Company, with some experience as a turret or church clock-maker. Their parent companies have not been identified". A fine maker represented in major Museums and many collections. This watch is illustrated and discussed in J.A Neale's book 'Windmills Clocks and Watches', at pages 80 Neale said: "He knew of only one earlier Windmills Watch that is in the Watchmakers Collection in the London Guildhall.". Dimensions: 4.5 cm diameter, 5.5 cm high, case diameter 5.2 cm
Estimate:
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Price:
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Category:
Horology (Clocks & watches): Watches - Pocket & Fob