Unusual Decorative Gold Quarter Repeater, circa 1790 — view 1 of 4 — View 1 of 4 · Image: Pieces of Time · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

View 1 of 4 · Image: Pieces of Time · original image source (opens another website in a new tab)

Pocket Watches · Pocket watch

Unusual Decorative Gold Quarter Repeater, circa 1790

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.

Maker / attribution: Unrecorded in source
Date: c. 1790
Historical period: Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)
Country of origin: Unrecorded in source
Object type: Pocket watch
Materials / technique: gold
Dealer: Pieces of Time (dealer), London
Stock no.: A10433
Credit line: Dealer listing, Pieces of Time (A10433)
Catalogue title (original): Unusual Decorative Gold Quarter Repeater (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Pieces of Time (dealer), London (stock number A10433), this is a pocket watch, dated c. 1790. The Atlas places it in the Precision & Scientific Horology period (1750 – 1850) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: gold. The record is illustrated with 4 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 — Pieces of Time

A late 18 th Century French quarter repeating verge in an unusual glazed consular case. Full plate gilt fusee movement. Finely pierced and engraved bridge cock, plain three arm gilt balance with blue steel spiral hairspring. Silver regulator dial with gilt indicator. Push pendant dumb quarter repeating on two blocks in the case. Winding through the white enamel dial, Arabic numerals, gilt hands. Unusual consular case with glazed hinged back protecting the two colour gold decoration on the back depicting a scene in an oval. The use of a glazed cover over the decoration is a very unusual feature.

Historical context

Precision & Scientific Horology (1750 – 1850)

Harrison solves longitude; Mudge invents the lever; Breguet's Paris workshop defines the modern watch.

From 1750 to 1850 the watch became a precision instrument. Mudge's lever escapement, the cylinder escapement, Lépine's thin bar calibre, Breguet's innovations (overcoil, tourbillon, perpétuelle) and the pocket chronometer of Arnold and Earnshaw all date from this period, while verge watches remained common in cheaper production.

Read the period in the timeline More pocket watches from this period Earlier: Early Modern Horology

Atlas type guide

Repeating watches

Before electric light, telling the time in the dark was a real problem. Repeating watches strike the time on demand when a slide or push-piece is operated: quarter repeaters sound hours and quarters, minute repeaters hours, quarters and minutes. Edward Barlow and Daniel Quare disputed the invention in London in the 1680s. Early repeaters struck on a bell inside the case; Abraham-Louis Breguet introduced the gong (a coiled steel wire) around 1780, allowing thinner watches.

Repeaters require a separate train with racks, snails and a governor to control the striking speed, and are among the most demanding complications to make and adjust. Swiss makers of the Vallée de Joux specialised in repeating ébauches in the nineteenth century.

What to look for

A slide on the case band or a push-piece through the pendant.
Gongs encircling the movement (after c. 1780) or a bell in the case (earlier); pierced case for sound.
The racks, snails and governor visible under the dial or on the movement.
Terms such as 'Minutes', 'Quarts' or 'Répétition' on the dial or cuvette.

Dating clues

Bell-striking quarter repeaters: c. 1690–1800.
Gong repeaters and dumb repeaters (striking on the case): after c. 1780.
Minute repeaters became more common after c. 1830 with Vallée de Joux ébauches.

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.

Mechanisms mentioned

Verge escapement — Escapement
Fusee — Component
Balance spring (hairspring) — Component
Plates, cocks and bridges — Component
Minute repeater — Complication

Record completeness

Maker or attributionNot in source
DateRecorded
Place or countryNot in source
MaterialsRecorded
DimensionsNot in source
Narrative descriptionRecorded
Inscriptions / marksNot in source
ProvenanceNot in source
Several photographsRecorded

Editorial status: Documented — facts as published by the source; not independently verified by Atlas editors.

Explore further

Sources & image rights

Record source: Pieces of Time (dealer), London (opens another website in a new tab).

Image rights: © Pieces of Time — dealer photographs; permission required (opens another website in a new tab).

Images are hosted by the Atlas for study and credited to their owner. Rights holders may request correction, credit changes or removal, or grant permission, via the editorial office.

Cite this record

"Unusual Decorative Gold Quarter Repeater, circa 1790." Pieces of Time (dealer), London, A10433. Catalogue record in The Horology Atlas, WatchMuseum.org, https://atlas.watchmuseum.org/museum/unusual-decorative-gold-quarter-repeater-circa-1790-7c34fb.