Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
E.J. Dent 18ct quarter repeating duplex half hunter pocket watch, hallmarked London 1850
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1850 (hallmarked London)
- Historical period
- Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)
- Country of origin
- England
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Dimensions
- Diameter 50 mm
- Auction house
- Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
- Lot
- Sale 45, lot 681
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 681, The Watch Auction - Pocket Watches, Gardiner Houlgate (25th October 2023)
- Catalogue title (original)
- E.J. Dent 18ct quarter repeating duplex half hunter pocket watch, London 1850, the gilt movement signed E.J. Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, London, no. 14487 and inscribed Patent, with engraved balanc (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 45, lot 681), this is a pocket watch, made in England, dated 1850 (hallmarked London). The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Recorded dimensions: Diameter 50 mm. 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
Lot description — Gardiner Houlgate
E.J. Dent 18ct quarter repeating duplex half hunter pocket watch, London 1850, the gilt movement signed E.J. Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, London, no. 14487 and inscribed Patent, with engraved balance cock, compensated balance, regulator and hammer striking a gong, signed and numbered dial with Roman numerals, minute track and subsidiary seconds at the eleven position, blued steel moon hands, within a plain case with hinged front and snap-on back, repeat slide at the four position and engraved h and standing cockerel to the case back, case maker 'AN', 108.8gm, 50mm - ** within a Hamilton & Inches fitted case
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 repeaterMinute repeater
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