Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
18ct yellow gold Tiffany open faced minute repeating pocketwatch, 1888
- Maker / attribution
- Tiffany (maker)
- Date
- 1888
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- yellow gold
- Dimensions
- Case 45 mm
- Stock no.
- G1630
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G1630)
- Catalogue title (original)
- 18ct yellow gold Tiffany open faced minute repeating pocketwatch. Made 1888 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G1630), this is a pocket watch by Tiffany, dated 1888. 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 45 mm. The record is illustrated with 2 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
In 1854, Tiffany & Co. entered into an agreement with Patek Philippe which still endures today. A few years later, in 1868, Tiffany introduced their own, split-seconds Tiffany Timer which was used for engineering and scientific purposes, as well as sporting events. Tiffany began manufacturing its own timepieces to satisfy the growing demand for sophisticated watches from its clientele. In 1874, the company established its own factory in Geneva, at Place Cornavin, to meet this need. Brand: Tiffany Made: 1888 Model: Minute repeater Reference: 290.248 Calibre : N/A Movement: Manual Material : 18ct yellow gold Features/complications : Enamel dial Dial : Enamel dial with outer minute track featuring arabic numerals and subsidiary seconds at 6 o'clock Case Dimensions : 45mm Bracelet/Strap: N/A Accessories : - SKU: 1630
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
Repeating watches
Before electric light, telling the time in the dark was a real problem. Repeating watches strike the time on demand when a slide or push-piece is operated: quarter repeaters sound hours and quarters, minute repeaters hours, quarters and minutes. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare disputed the invention in London in the 1680s. Early repeaters struck on a bell inside the case; Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced the gong (a coiled steel wire) around 1780, allowing thinner watches.
Repeaters require a separate train with racks, snails and a governor to control the striking speed, and are among the most demanding complications to make and adjust. Swiss makers of the Vallée de Joux specialised in repeating ébauches in the nineteenth century.
What to look for
- A slide on the case band or a push-piece through the pendant.
- Gongs encircling the movement (after c. 1780) or a bell in the case (earlier); pierced case for sound.
- The racks, snails and governor visible under the dial or on the movement.
- Terms such as 'Minutes', 'Quarts' or 'Répétition' on the dial or cuvette.
Dating clues
- Bell-striking quarter repeaters: c. 1690–1800.
- Gong repeaters and dumb repeaters (striking on the case): after c. 1780.
- Minute repeaters became more common after c. 1830 with Vallée de Joux ébauches.
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:Minute repeater
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