Watch movement by Joakim Hovenschiöld, Sweden, 1947 — view 1 of 1
View 1 of 1 · Image: Nordic Museum Foundation · original image source

Movements & Components · Watch movement

Watch movement by Joakim Hovenschiöld, Sweden, 1947

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Joakim Hovenschiöld (creator)
Date
1947
Country of origin
Sweden
Place
Sweden
Object type
Watch movement
Holding institution
Nordic Museum Foundation
Accession / object no.
nomu_object_NM0181187
Catalogue title (original)
Fickurverk

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Nordic Museum Foundation (object number nomu_object_NM0181187), this is a watch movement by Joakim Hovenschiöld, made in Sweden, dated 1947. The Atlas places it in the Modern Mechanical Horology period (1945 – 1969) of its Movements & Components collection. 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 Nordic Museum Foundation (Swedish)

"Utom de av Hovenschiöld förfärdigade uren finns här i landet åtskilliga ur av undermålig beskaffenhet, som visserligen äro signerade Hovenschiöld eller Hovenschöild, men signaturen är falsk och uren utländska." Från Elis Sidenbladh "Urmakare i Sverige under äldre tider" 1947.

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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

Modern Mechanical Horology (1945 – 1969)

Tool watches for divers, pilots and astronauts; electric watches anticipate the electronic age.

Automatic winding, shock protection (Incabloc), and high-beat movements; electric and tuning-fork movements appeared.

Read the period in the timelineMore movements & components from this periodEarlier: Golden Age of Mechanical Watchmaking

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.

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