Gold and silver, engraved, matted and engine-turned, England, Coventry, about 1880; made by Thomas Batting (V&A M.22-1932)

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Victoria and Albert Museum, London (object number M.22-1932), this is a watch dial by Thomas Batting, made in Coventry, England, dated ca.1880. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Movements & Components collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Gold and silver, engraved, matted and engine-turned. Recorded dimensions: Diameter: 4.2 cm. 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

Atlas type guide

Dials and hands

Dials record both fashion and technology. Early watches had engraved metal dials; champlevé dials with raised numerals dominated around 1680–1730, followed by white vitreous enamel, guilloché gold and silver dials, and printed metal dials in the twentieth century. Luminous paints — radium from c. 1910, tritium from c. 1960 and non-radioactive pigments from the late 1990s — answered the need for legibility in the dark.

Because dials are visible and easily damaged, they were often restored or replaced. Distinguishing original dials from 'redials', and original hands from later replacements, is one of the main tasks of identification and authentication.

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.