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Watch, c. 1865 - c. 1875 — view 1 of 1
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Pocket Watches · Watch

Watch, c. 1865 - c. 1875

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
c. 1865 - c. 1875
Country of origin
Unrecorded in source
Object type
Watch
Materials / technique
silver (metal), glass
Dimensions
diameter 5 cm x height 7.2 cm x width 5 cm x depth 1.5 cm
Holding institution
Rijksmuseum
Accession / object no.
BK-15030
Credit line
Maurits Elzas collection, Arnhem
Catalogue title (original)
Horloge, Duplex, van zilver, met gladde achterbodem en wit geëmailleerde wijzerplaat (Dutch)

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Record summary

Held and catalogued by Rijksmuseum (object number BK-15030), this is a watch, dated c. 1865 - c. 1875. The Atlas places it in the Industrial Revolution period (1850 – 1900) of its Pocket Watches collection. Materials and techniques recorded by the source: silver (metal), glass. Recorded dimensions: diameter 5 cm x height 7.2 cm x width 5 cm x depth 1.5 cm. 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

Description — Rijksmuseum (Dutch)

Horloge, Duplex, van zilver, met gladde achterbodem en wit geëmailleerde wijzerplaat voorzien van Romeinse uur- en Arabische minuutcijfers op de kwartieren. Drie wijzers. Het geciseleerde werk is een bodem van glas zichtbaar. In de achterbodem 1624. Omstreeks 1870.

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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

Industrial Revolution (1850 – 1900)

American interchangeable-parts manufacture; railroad time standards; Swiss and German factory systems.

Machine production with interchangeable parts, pioneered by Waltham (1850s) and adopted by Elgin, Longines, Omega and others, made reliable lever watches widely affordable. Keyless winding became standard, railroad watch standards were introduced (1890s), and Swiss and American industries competed globally.

Read the period in the timelineMore pocket watches from this periodEarlier: Precision & Scientific Horology

Atlas type guide

Watches for the Chinese and Ottoman markets

From the late eighteenth century English and Swiss makers produced watches specifically for export to China and the Ottoman Empire. For China, Fleurier houses such as Bovet, Juvet and Vrard made matching pairs of watches with richly engraved and decorated movements, often with the duplex escapement whose centre seconds hand jumps in full seconds. For Ottoman buyers, London makers such as George Prior and Markwick Markham supplied verge watches with Turkish numerals in triple or quadruple cases of tortoiseshell and silver.

These watches reflect global trade networks and the tastes of distant markets, and are important evidence for cross-cultural exchange in horology.

What to look for

  • Engraved, fully decorated movements visible under a glass back.
  • Duplex escapement with a jumping centre seconds hand.
  • Chinese characters on the movement (e.g. the maker's name in transliteration).
  • Turkish (Ottoman) numerals on the dial and multiple protective outer cases.

Dating clues

  • Chinese-market Fleurier watches: c. 1820–1900.
  • English Ottoman-market watches: c. 1770–1850.

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:Verge escapement

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