Cylinder watch in silver case, calendar, balance under dial, R.Q., in case. Hall marked 1860 — view 1 of 1
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Pocket Watches · Pocket watch; cylinder watch

Cylinder watch in silver case, calendar, balance under dial, R.Q., in case. Hall marked 1860

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
hallmarked 1860; 1850-1890
Country of origin
England
Place
England, United Kingdom, England
Object type
Pocket watch; cylinder watch
Dimensions
overall: 18 mm x 51 mm x 70 mm, .08 kg
Holding institution
Science Museum Group, London
Accession / object no.
1916-213
Credit line
Mr. Evan Roberts
Catalogue title (original)
Silver Pocket Watch with Calender, 1850-1860

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Science Museum Group, London (object number 1916-213), this is a pocket watch; cylinder watch, made in England, United Kingdom, England, dated hallmarked 1860; 1850-1890. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Recorded dimensions: overall: 18 mm x 51 mm x 70 mm, .08 kg. The record is illustrated with 1 photograph.

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

The source record does not include a narrative description. The structured fields above are reproduced from it.

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

Calendar, moon-phase and perpetual calendar watches

Calendar complications range from a simple date to the perpetual calendar, which automatically allows for months of different lengths and leap years until 2100. Pocket watches with perpetual calendars were made in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; Patek Philippe made the first perpetual calendar wristwatch in 1925, and series production followed in 1941. The annual calendar (Patek Philippe, 1996) needs correction only once a year.

Moon-phase displays use a disc with two moons and 59 teeth advanced daily, approximating the 29.5-day lunation; more precise trains reduce the error to one day in over a century.

What to look for

  • Apertures or subsidiary dials for day, date, month and leap year.
  • Moon disc under a 'bosom' shaped aperture.
  • Recessed correctors on the case band for setting the calendar.

Dating clues

  • Triple-date wristwatches: popular c. 1940–1955.
  • Perpetual calendar wristwatches: from 1925 (unique) and 1941 (series).

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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