Oval silver and gilt-brass cased verge clock-watch with hour-striking, alarm and calendar

Description — British Museum

Alarm watch. Strike and alarum disc. Oval case. Train count: Going: Fusee great wheel 64 Second wheel 50, 6 Contrate wheel 44, 5 Escape wheel 17, 5 Striking: Great wheel 54 (barrel ratch 14) Second (pin) wheel 40, … 8 Third (locking/warning) 34, 5 Fourth wheel 28, 5 Fifth wheel 24, 5 Sixth, roller, 6 Alarm: Great wheel 32 (barrel ratchet 11) Second wheel 20, 6 Contrate wheel 20, 6 Crown wheel 9, 6 Under-dial work.

Curator's comments — British Museum

This watch is very similar to one in the Musuem of London collection by Gaultier Ferlite (Object ID A14092), part of the Cheapside Hoard. Whilst they are hinged at opposite ends to each other, both the dial and mechanism layout are almost identical. Baillie, Watches 1929, plate XI, pp.67,95. Bassermann-Jordan, The Book of Old Clocks & Watches, 4th ed. 1964, fig.91a/b p.121. For a comparison see Tardy, LA PENDULE FRANCAIS, Vol.I P.88. Here a watch signed Pierre Louteau has a dial clearly decorated by the same engraver. Text from 'Watches', by David Thompson, London, 2008, p. 34-35. Jean Vallier CLOCK-WATCH WITH CALENDAR AND ALARM LYON, c. 1630 SIGNED: 'Jean Vallier à Lyon By the early seventeenth century, watchmaking in France had reached a high level of sophistication and the quality of engraved decoration on French cases was perhaps better than anywhere else in Europe. At that time one of the more important centres of watchmaking was Lyon, a city with a history in the craft stretching back well into the sixteenth century, and Jean Vallier was one of its most celebrated makers. He became a master watchmaker in 1602 and died in 1649. Of the surviving watches that bear his name, this is the finest, made around 1630 and intended for a customer of considerable wealth, for such a watch would have been a Rolls-Royce of its day. The case alone is a work of art, intricately engraved on the back with depictions of Apollo and the nine Muses. The band is pierced and engraved around the sides with foliate scrolls and has most unusual rope-twist top and bottom rims. It is a great pity that at some time in the watch's history someone saw fit to remove the front solid-silver cover, which would, without doubt, have been engraved with similar beautiful classical designs. It is likely that somewhere there is an oval pendant that contains a finely engraved silver plaque, for it is hard to believe that anyone could melt down such superb artistry. The calendar dial is of the highest quality, with beautiful engraved detail around the various indications. It carries depictions of Diana holding a crescent moon (for the moon) and Apollo with his lyre (for the sun). At the top a small rectangular aperture shows the date above a subsidiary dial indicating the age and phase of the moon. To the left, another dial shows the days of the week, with each day's ruling deity appearing in a sector. On the right an engraved silver chapter ring indicates the quarters. The bottom dial is for the hours, with an alarm-setting disc at its centre. Two sectors in the upper right-hand area show the seasons and the months, with the number of days in each. Interestingly the dial inscriptions are in Italian, showing that the watch was made for a customer from that country. The movement contains an array of wheels, pinions and levers for the separate gear trains which provide the timekeeping, hour-striking and alarm functions. All the finely pierced and engraved components on the back plate are original except for the plain brass balance, which has been replaced in more recent times. It must be asked who made the case and dial; it is unlikely to have been Jean Vallier the watchmaker. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam holds a very similar watch which contains a movement signed 'Pierre Louteau'. The case and dial of the Louteau watch are clearly associated with this example by Vallier. Was Louteau, or perhaps Vallier, responsible for both examples? Equally it could have been a top-class silversmith-engraver who supplied both watchmakers 'with cases. In any event, the results are stunning.