9,775 CHF
Hunt & Roskell, London, No. 11179, London hallmarks for 1856 - 57. Very fine and important 18K gold hunting-cased pocket chronometer with early keyless winding. Five-body, "bassine et filets", by Alfred Stram (AS), chased and engraved with scrolls and foliage, hinged andsprung front cover with a crest of a cockerel above a horn and the motto "Leve Leve", polished band, the backcover with a double monogram. Hinged gold cuvette. White enamel, radial Roman numerals, outer minutetrack, subsidiary seconds at 9. Blued steel spade hands. Notes The present watch has a very early form of keyless winding and handsetting, which anticipates Adrien Philippe’s second keyless winding system (patent 46951 of 1861). Indeed, it features “coasting”, an important element of Philippe’s patent, whereby the crown can be turned anti-clockwise with the typical ratchet noise, and thus pre-dates Philippe’s registration of the idea. Both have their origins in Breguet’s idea of the ratchet key. To find keyless winding and hand-setting on a pocket chronometer of this date is very rare. The firm of Hunt and Roskell had very close associations with the Swiss watch industry and often used Swiss movements for their precision watches. Hunt & Roskell The firm was begun by the gold and silversmith Paul Storr. In partnership with John Mortimer and John Samuel Hunt, he added the retailing of clocks and watches to his activities of selling gold and silver plate and jewelry in their New Bond Street premise
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
2005-05-15
