Pocket Watches · Watch
Gilt metal and silver watch with movement by Jean Pattru (the name inscribed in Arabic), probably Turkey, ca. 1670
- Maker / attribution
- Jean Pattru (watchmaker)
- Date
- ca. 1670
- Historical period
- Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)
- Country of origin
- Ottoman Empire / Turkey
- Place
- Turkey
- Object type
- Watch
- Materials / technique
- Engraved gilt brass and silver
- Dimensions
- Length: 80 mm (case); Width: 53 mm (case); Depth: 29 mm
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Accession / object no.
- 136-1907
Record summary
Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number 136-1907), this is a watch by Jean Pattru, made in Turkey, Ottoman Empire / Turkey, dated ca. 1670. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Engraved gilt brass and silver. Recorded dimensions: Length: 80 mm (case); Width: 53 mm (case); Depth: 29 mm. The record is illustrated with 2 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
V&A — Summary
European watches were sent to the Ottoman Empire in the sixteenth century. From the beginning of the seventeenth century there was a body of Genevan watchmakers in Constantinople. In April 1671 Sébastien Chappuis in Constantinople ordered fifty astronomical watches from one Genevan maker and forty from another. Astronomical watches had a particular appeal because they could assist in the calculation of religious festivals. The case of this watch appears to have been decorated and probably made in Turkey. The movement was probably made by a Swiss watchmaker, either in Geneva, for the Ottoman market, or in Turkey. The dial and movement bear finely executed Arabic inscriptions, which indicate that they were engraved in Turkey, not in Geneva. The name inscribed on the top plate of the movement in Arabic has been read as 'Jan Ptrw'. A number of watchmakers named Pattru (or Patru) are recorded as working in Geneva in the seventeenth century. 'Jan Ptrw' may refer to Jean Pattru, who was working in the rue du Temple in 1666.
V&A — Physical description
Engraved gilt brass and silver watch. The gilt-brass case is engraved with scrolling foliage and flowers on a horizontally engraved ground. On the lid the flowers and foliage issue from a vase. The silver dial is engraved with flowers and foliage on a horizontally engraved ground. The upper dial has a hand which points to the day of the month (with 'Indian' numerals, 1-29) on a gilt-metal ring. The lower dial has a hand which points to the hours (with 'Indian numerals', 1-12) on a gilt-metal ring. There are three apertures in the dial. The top one is circular and shows the phases of the moon. The others show the days of the week and the months (see inscriptions). The movement has a verge escapement with fusee and gut. The top plate is engraved with floral decoration and, in Arabic, 'Jan Ptrw'. It has a pierced cock with single pierced foot.
V&A — Object history
The watch was bought by the Museum from the dealer Percy Webster, 37 Great Portland Street, London W., in 1907 for £17 3s 2d.
Inscriptions & marks
signed in Arabic 'Jan Ptrw'; Two apertures on the dial are placed above rotating silver discs engraved with the days of the week (on the left, if the watch is held with the catch at the bottom) and the names of the months (on the right) in Arabic.
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
Pocket watches
The pocket watch was the dominant personal timekeeper from the late seventeenth century until the First World War. Its development tracks the history of the escapement: verge watches with fusees until the late eighteenth century; Thomas Mudge's lever escapement (c. 1755) and the cylinder escapement popularised by George Graham and later by Swiss makers; and the Swiss and English lever watches of the nineteenth century. Lépine's bar-bridge calibre and keyless winding made watches thinner and easier to use.
Industrialisation transformed the trade: American factories such as Waltham (from 1850) and Elgin produced interchangeable parts by machine, and Swiss makers responded with their own mechanisation after the 1876 Philadelphia Exhibition. By 1900 a reliable watch was affordable to millions; the finest makers continued to produce complications and precision watches.
What to look for
- The escapement: verge (crown wheel), cylinder, duplex, English or Swiss lever.
- Key winding (a square arbor in dial or back) or keyless crown winding.
- Signatures and serial numbers on the movement, dial and inside case back.
- Hallmarks, case maker's marks and gold or silver standards stamped in the case.
- Dial material: enamel, silver, gold, later printed metal.
Dating clues
- Verge watches dominate before c. 1800; cylinder watches c. 1770–1900; lever watches after c. 1820.
- Keyless winding: increasingly common after c. 1860.
- Manufacturer serial number lists exist for Waltham, Elgin, Longines, Omega, Patek Philippe and others.
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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