Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
Early Triple Cased Gold Quarter Repeater, 1713
- Maker / attribution
- Unrecorded in source
- Date
- 1713 (hallmarked London)
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- Unrecorded in source
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- gold
- Stock no.
- A11132
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Pieces of Time (A11132)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Early Triple Cased Gold Quarter Repeater (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Pieces of Time (dealer), London (stock number A11132), this is a pocket watch, dated 1713 (hallmarked London). The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. The record is illustrated with 6 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 — Pieces of Time
A fine early 18 th Century English quarter repeating verge in gold pair cases and third protective outer. Deep full plate fire gilt movement with turned baluster pillars. Unusual and attractive signed silver dust cover secured by a rotating blue steel “S” shaped lock. The raised centre pierced to reveal the regulator disc and engraved with foliate decoration bordered by oak leaf engraving. The sides of the dust cover also decoratively engraved. Fusee and chain with worm and wheel barrel setup between the plates. Pierced and engraved winged cock with mask, pierced and engraved foot and plate for the silver regulator disc. Plain three arm steel balance, blue steel spiral hairspring. Push pendant quarter repeating, two polished steel hammers on a bell in the case, steel pulse piece. Deep engraved dial plate and engraved brass edge to the white enamel dial, Roman and Arabic numerals. Unusual fine blue steel beetle and serpentine poker hands. Matching 22 carat gold pair cases, gold push pendant and rope stirrup bow. The sides of the inner case finely pierced and engraved with foliate decoration surrounding depictions of birds and a large grotesque mask at the base. 22 carat gold outer case, pierced and engraved bezel. Plain centre to the back within a chased and engraved repousse rococo border. Four chased and engraved repousse busts around the back separated by four pierced and engraved panels. Both cases bearing the maker’s mark “PR”. Third protective gilt metal case covered in black leather simply decorated with a small gilt disc to the centre. Your browser does not support the video tag.
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
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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