Pocket Watches · Pocket watch
English 18th century quarter repeating gilt-metal pocket watch by George Clarke, London
- Maker / attribution
- George Clarke (maker)
- Date
- 18th century
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- England
- Place
- London
- Object type
- Pocket watch
- Materials / technique
- gilt
- Dimensions
- Diameter 56 mm
- Auction house
- Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham
- Lot
- Sale 50, lot 26
- Credit line
- Auction lot record: lot 26, The Collection of the Late Fred Crampton - PART I, Gardiner Houlgate (20th May 2024)
- Catalogue title (original)
- George Clarke, London - English 18th century quarter repeating gilt-metal pocket watch, signed fusee movement plunge repeat with hammers striking gongs, no. 3462, sprung three-arm balance, fine pierce (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Gardiner Houlgate (auction house), Corsham (lot Sale 50, lot 26), this is a pocket watch by George Clarke, made in London, England, dated 18th century. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gilt. Recorded dimensions: Diameter 56 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
George Clarke, London - English 18th century quarter repeating gilt-metal pocket watch, signed fusee movement plunge repeat with hammers striking gongs, no. 3462, sprung three-arm balance, fine pierced and engraved winged balance cock and foot, with a rose diamond endstone, silvered regulating dial, the dial with Roman numerals, outer minute track and gold spade hands, bullseye glass, later gilt-metal case with an engraved crest to the back, case maker 'J.C', 56mm
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 repeaterMinute repeater
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