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Pocket watch movement by Cornelis Uyterweer, Netherlands, 1730 — view 1 of 1
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Movements & Components · Pocket watch movement

Pocket watch movement by Cornelis Uyterweer, Netherlands, 1730

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Cornelis Uyterweer (Maker)
Date
1730
Country of origin
Netherlands
Place
Nederland, Rotterdam
Object type
Pocket watch movement
Materials / technique
Material: gold Material: brass Material: steel
Dimensions
2.5cm hg 4.2cm dm
Holding institution
Museum Rotterdam
Accession / object no.
5235
Credit line
Museum Rotterdam
Catalogue title (original)
Binnenwerk van zakhorloge (zonder kast) met op de kloof afgebeeld en geschreven "HET LAND EUROPA" (Dutch)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Museum Rotterdam (object number 5235), this is a pocket watch movement by Cornelis Uyterweer, made in Nederland, Rotterdam, Netherlands, dated 1730. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Movements & Components collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: Material: gold Material: brass Material: steel. Recorded dimensions: 2.5cm hg 4.2cm dm. 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

Catalogue description from Museum Rotterdam

Het uurwerk met spillegang, met snek. Waaiervormige pilaren, aan de bovenzijde ajourgezaagd. Ajourgezaagde stuiting voor de snek. Op de achterplatine een zilveren gesloten brug met een gedreven voorstelling van Europa zittend tussen rijkdom. Onder de niervormige opening voor glasruitje de tekst: "HET LAND EUROPA". Daarachter het zichtbare gedeelte van de balans in de vorm van een gegroefd lensje. Naast de kloof een vierkante geblauwde stift voor de regulage. Rond de signatuur een ajourgezaagd floraal ornament.

Shown in the original language of the source catalogue. An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.

Historical context

Early Modern Horology (1600 – 1750)

Huygens' pendulum and balance spring transform accuracy; English makers develop the anchor and deadbeat escapements.

The pendulum, anchor escapement and balance spring transformed movement design; English makers introduced jewelled bearings (1704).

Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Renaissance Horology

Atlas type guide

Clock and watch movements

The movement is the mechanism of a clock or watch, without its case and dial. It consists of the power source (weight or mainspring in its barrel, sometimes with a fusee), the going train of wheels and pinions, the escapement and oscillator, the motion work that drives the hands, and in many cases additional trains for striking or complications.

From the eighteenth century watch movements were increasingly produced in stages: Swiss and French ébauche makers supplied rough movements that finishers, repasseurs and retailers completed and signed. Calibre numbers — first used systematically by American and Swiss factories in the nineteenth century — make it possible to identify movements, find spare parts and date watches.

What to look for

  • Plate and bridge layout: full plate, three-quarter plate, Lépine bar calibre, bridges and cocks.
  • Jewel count and whether jewels are set in chatons or rubbed in.
  • Signatures, calibre and serial numbers on the plate or under the dial.
  • Finishing: Geneva stripes (Côtes de Genève), perlage, bevelled edges, blued screws.
  • Fusee and chain, going barrel, or electrical components.

Dating clues

  • Full-plate English movements dominate before c. 1850; three-quarter plate and Lépine calibres after.
  • Jewelled movements spread after Facio and Debaufre's patent of 1704, mainly in English work until c. 1800.
  • Calibre numbers and factory serials allow close dating for industrial production after c. 1850.

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:FuseeDetached lever escapementVerge escapement

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