Pocket Watches · Watch
Case and dial of engraved silver and gilt brass. English, about 1640.
- Maker / attribution
- Robert Grinkin (watchmaker)
- Date
- ca. 1610-1620
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Watch
- Materials / technique
- Engraved silver, gilt brass and steel
- Dimensions
- Height: 5.1 cm; Width: 3.1 cm; Depth: 2.0 cm
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Accession / object no.
- M.3-2003
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number M.3-2003), this is a watch by Robert Grinkin, made in London, England, dated ca. 1610-1620. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Engraved silver, gilt brass and steel. Recorded dimensions: Height: 5.1 cm; Width: 3.1 cm; Depth: 2.0 cm. 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
V&A — Summary
The movement of this watch is engraved with the name of Robert Grinkin. There were two London watchmakers of this name, father and son. The watch appears to date from about 1610 to 1620 and may therefore be the work of Robert Grinkin senior. He is believed to have been Master of the Blacksmiths’ Company in 1609. In 1622 he was one of a group of watchmakers who asked King James I to allow them to form a company of clockmakers, aimed at keeping foreign competitors out of London. The king did not agree to their request, and it was not until 1631 that the Clockmakers’ Company was founded. Robert Grinkin senior had died in 1626, but his son went on to become Master of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1648 and 1654. The appearance of the watch suggests it was much used. The original movement was altered to prolong its useful life. The engraved decoration of the silver case, which includes scenes from the life of Jesus Christ, has been heavily rubbed by wear.
V&A — Physical description
Octagonal watch with engraved silver and brass case, brass dial, silver chapter ring, single hand, pierced cock and pillars, verge escapement, gut-driven fusee.
V&A — Object history
According to a letter from Mrs I. de B. Lockyer to the V&A when she proposed the loan of the watch on 2 March 1958 it was 'originally in the possession of the Twopeny [? if this is correct reading] family of Woodstock Park, Kent (forbears of my mother's)'.
Inscriptions & marks
'Ro Grinkin'
Historical context
Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.
The balance spring (c. 1675) improved watches dramatically and introduced the minute hand. English pair-cased verge watches with pierced balance cocks and French oignons were typical; enamel painting at Blois and Geneva, and the repeating watch (1680s), made watches objects of great refinement.
Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology
Atlas type guide
Pocket watches
The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.
Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.
What to look for
- The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
- Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
- Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
- Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
- Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.
Dating clues
- Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
- Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
- Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.
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.
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