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Silver Octavy Johann pair cased sun and moon verge watch, 1720 — view 1 of 6
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Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Silver Octavy Johann pair cased sun and moon verge watch, 1720

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Octavy Johann (maker)
Date
1720
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Pocket watch
Materials / technique
silver
Dimensions
Case 53 mm
Stock no.
G2400
Credit line
Dealer listing, Somlo Antiques (G2400)
Catalogue title (original)
Silver Octavy Johann pair cased sun and moon verge watch. Made 1720 (English)

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Record summary

Catalogued by Somlo Antiques (dealer), London (stock number G2400), this is a pocket watch by Octavy Johann, dated 1720. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: silver. Recorded dimensions: Case 53 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 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 — Somlo Antiques

By the early 18th century, the standard dial layout featuring concentric hour and minute hands had become the most widely used configuration, however in late 17th-century London, a trend emerged for distinctive and unconventional clock dials. Among the most popular designs was the "sun-and-moon dial." Brand: Octavy Johann Dennicken Konigsberg Made: 1720 Model: Pocketwatch Reference: N/A Calibre: - Movement: G ilded full plate with verge escapement, silver balance cock decoratively pierced and engraved with three birds carrying a tortoise, broad cock foot engraved with scrolling foliage, plain brass pillars each mounted with a pierced and engraved eagle each holding a different attribute including a sword and an anchor, silver regulation disc, fuseé and chain Material: Silver Features/complications: Signed Octavy Johann Dennicken, Konigsberg. O uter tortoiseshell covered case with silver piqué work depicting a stylised flower to the centre and four coronets to the edge, the front bezel with further pin work decoration plain pendant Dial: Silver champlevé dial with large aperture with rotating disc divided into day and night, hours indicated on an outer semi-circular chapter ring with Roman numerals heightenedwith black wax, daytime hours indicated by a golden sun with pointer, night hours indicated by a silver moon with pointer surrounded by silver stars, the sun and moon against a blued steel sky, outer Arabic minute ring and a single steel hand. Lower half of the dial with two eagles supporting signed banners Case dimensions: 53mm Bracelet/strap: N/A Accessories: - SKU: 2400

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

Verge and pair-cased watches

After Christiaan Huygens and Robert Hooke applied the balance spring around 1675, the verge watch became a reasonably reliable timekeeper and the minute hand became standard. Through the eighteenth century the typical English watch was a pair-cased verge: a fusee movement with a pierced, engraved balance cock, housed in an inner case and a separate protective outer case, often of repoussé gold, shagreen, tortoiseshell or enamel.

French watches of the same period were thicker 'oignons', later replaced by elegant thinner watches following Jean-Antoine Lépine's bar-bridge calibre of c. 1770. Dutch, Swiss and German makers supplied international markets, and verge watches were made until the mid-nineteenth century as cheaper alternatives to the cylinder and lever.

What to look for

  • The pierced balance cock on the backplate: winged (continental) or with a foot (English); its style dates the watch.
  • Fusee and chain visible through the movement; key winding through the dial (early) or case back.
  • Hallmarks inside English silver or gold cases, which give a date letter.
  • Maker's name and serial number engraved on the backplate; watch papers inside outer cases.
  • Enamel dials (after c. 1720) versus earlier champlevé metal dials.

Dating clues

  • Champlevé dials: c. 1680–1730; white enamel dials thereafter.
  • English case hallmarks give the year of assay to within a year.
  • Verge watches persisted in cheap production until 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:FuseeBalance spring (hairspring)Verge escapement

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