23,000 CHF
“John Stephens” Robert Grinkin, London. Made circa 1625, arms engraved circa 1700. Very fine and rare early gilt brass and silver pre-balance spring oval pendant watch. Two-body, silver band chased with foliage, outer hinged cover engraved with the arms of John Stephens,Attorney General to Henry, Prince of Wales and Charles I, the inner surface engraved with a laurel wreath. Oval dial plate finely chased and engraved with inhabited foliage, applied silver chapter ring with radial Romannumerals and star half-hour markers. Elaborate blued steel single hand. Hinged gilt brass oval full-plate withround baluster pillars, the backplate with engraved foliate band on the border, fusee with gut line, verge escape-ment,plain steel two-arm balance without spring, irregular florally pierced gilt brass cock secured by a pin, ratchetwheel set-up with matching cock.Signed on the backplate.Dim. 58 x 35 mm. Notes This watch was previously sold by Antiquorum, Geneva, in "The Art of British Horology", 21 October 1995, lot 3. An almost identical watch by the same maker is described and illustrated in T.P. Camerer Cuss, (rev. by T.A. Camerer Cuss), “The Camerer Cuss Book of Antique Watches”, 1976, pp. 58-59, pl. 11. Literature: Richard Good, “A pre-balance spring horizontal table clock with hour striking and alarum by Robert Grinkin of London”, Antiquarian Horology, xiv, 1986, 381-85; J.H. Leopold, “Clockmaking in Britain and the Netherlands”; Notes and Records of the Royal Society of Lon
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2005-05-15
