Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
18ct yellow gold Charles Frodsham half-hunter pocketwatch, 1897
- Maker / attribution
- Charles Frodsham (maker)
- Date
- 1897
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- England
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- yellow gold
- Dimensions
- Case 48 mm
- Stock no.
- G3581
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G3581)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 18ct yellow gold Charles Frodsham half-hunter pocketwatch. Made 1897 (English)
View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction
Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G3581), this is a pocket watch by Charles Frodsham, made in England, dated 1897. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: yellow gold. Recorded dimensions: Case 48 mm. The record is illustrated with 3 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Somlo Antiques
Charles Frodsham was the son of William James Frodsham. It seemed that the young man had picked up this family trait for horology when at the tender age of twenty he distinguished himself by submitting one of his first marine chronometers to the Premium trials at Greenwich Observatory. Soon after, he was made fellow of the Royal Astronomical Society. ‘Charles Frodsham & Co’ was founded in 1843 in central London after taking over the clockmakers ‘Arnold & Co’ at 84 Strand, London. Here Charles Frodsham built a renowned and well-respected business that in 1854 was granted the Royal Warrant and made keeper of Her Majesty’s clocks, an honour the company still holds today. From the latter half of the nineteenth century onwards, Frodsham pieces have been exhibited all over the world. His double-escapement skeleton clock manufactured for the Great Exhibition in 1851 is still considered unique. ‘Charles Frodsham & Co’ is now located in St James's, London and Simon Frodsham, the great-great-great nephew of the founder, still sits on the board of the company. Brand: Frodsham Made: 1897 Model: Half Hunter Reference: - Calibre: N/A Movement: Manual Material: 18ct yellow gold Features/complications: Half hunter Dial: White enamel dial with black printed outer minute track featuring Roman numeral markers with blued spade hands and subsidiary seconds at 6 o'clock Case dimensions: 48mm Bracelet/strap: N/A Accessories: N/A SKU: 3581
Historical context
Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.
Machine production with interchangeable parts, pioneered by Waltham (1850s) and adopted by Elgin, Longines, Omega and others, made reliable lever watches widely affordable. Keyless winding became standard, railroad watch standards were introduced (1890s), and Swiss and American industries competed globally.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology
Atlas type guide
Hunter, half-hunter and open-face watches
In the nineteenth century the pocket watch case settled into a few standard forms. The hunter (French savonnette) has a hinged front lid protecting the crystal — reputedly for riders who could not risk broken glass — and is opened by pressing the crown or a push-piece. The half-hunter has a small window in the lid so the hands can be read when closed. The open-face (lépine) watch has no front cover, with the crown at 12; hunters normally carry the crown at 3.
Case types also changed with winding: key-wound watches gave way to keyless (stem-wound) mechanisms after Adrien Philippe's and others' designs of the 1840s, with pendant setting or lever setting.
What to look for
- Crown position relative to the seconds dial: at 3 for hunters, at 12 for open-face watches.
- Spring-loaded front cover with a push-piece in the pendant.
- Half-hunter chapter ring enamelled on the lid.
- Key holes in the inner dome (cuvette) versus keyless winding.
Dating clues
- Keyless winding spread after c. 1850 and became standard by c. 1890.
- English hallmarks inside gold and silver cases give the year of assay.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
Read next:Detached lever escapement
Related records
Instruments · hallmarked 1833; 1820-1833
Chronometer watch in silver case by J.R. Arnold, Chas Frodsham, no.6530, 3/4 -plate movement, 1820-1833
Science Museum Group, London
Pocket Watches · 1900
Hunter pocket watch by Charles Frodsham, England, 1900
Museo Galileo, Florence
Pocket Watches · c. 1839
Pocket watch no. 3483 by Charles Frodsham
Royal Museums Greenwich
Clocks · c. 1850
Wall clock no. 1348 by Charles Frodsham
Royal Museums Greenwich
Pocket Watches · 1835–1875
Pocket watch by Cornelius Brooks Holliday, England, 1835–1875
Science Museum Group, London
Pocket Watches · c. 1849–50
Watch by Edward Prior, England, c. 1849–50
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Pocket Watches · 1850-1862; hallmarked 1862
Cylinder watch in silver case by Jno. R. Arnold, London, no.3636, compensated curb, hall marked 1862
Science Museum Group, London
Pocket Watches · hallmarked 1860; 1850-1890
Cylinder watch in silver case, calendar, balance under dial, R.Q., in case. Hall marked 1860
Science Museum Group, London