Freesprung English Minute Repeating Hunter, 1924 — view 1 of 5 — View 1 of 5 · Image: Pieces of Time · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

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Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Freesprung English Minute Repeating Hunter, 1924

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Unrecorded in source
Date: 1924 (hallmarked London)
Historical period: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Pocket watch
Dealer: Pieces of Time (dealer), London
Stock no.: A10955
Credit line: Dealer listing, Pieces of Time (A10955)
Catalogue title (original): Freesprung English Minute Repeating Hunter (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Pieces of Time (dealer), London (stock number A10955), this is a pocket watch, dated 1924 (hallmarked London). The Atlas places it in the Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking period (1900 – 1945) of its Pocket Watches collection. The record is illustrated with 5 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 20 th Century freesprung English minute repeater in substantial gold full hunter case. Gilt half plate keyless movement, raised section of the plate for the going barrel. Plain cock with diamond endstone. Compensation balance, freesprung blue steel overcoil hairspring. English double roller lever escapement, screwed in jewelling, escape and lever pivots with endstones. Slide minute repeating on two polished steel gongs. White enamel dial with subsidiary seconds, Roman numerals, blue steel hands. Substantial plain 18 carat full hunter case, recessed gold slide, gold bow and double flysprings to the front cover. Maker’s mark “PW” in an oval. Recent blue morocco covered presentation case.

Historical context

Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking (1900 – 1945)

The wristwatch displaces the pocket watch; waterproof cases, self-winding and grand complications.

The pocket watch reached technical maturity and then began to give way to the wristwatch after the First World War. Complicated watches for collectors such as Henry Graves Jr. and James Ward Packard, railroad watches, and slim Art Deco dress watches are characteristic.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Industrial Revolution

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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Detached lever escapement — Escapement
Minute repeater — Complication
Balance spring (hairspring) — Component
Compensation balance — Component
Going barrel — Component
Jewel bearings — Component
Keyless (stem) winding — Component

Record completeness

Maker or attributionNot in source
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsNot in source
DimensionsNot in source
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

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Sources & image rights

Record source: Pieces of Time (dealer), London (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Pieces of Time — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Freesprung English Minute Repeating Hunter, 1924." Pieces of Time (dealer), London, A10955. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/freesprung-english-minute-repeating-hunter-1924-3a4450.