Watch movement, Sweden, 1700–1773 — view 1 of 1
View 1 of 1 · Image: Sörmland Museum · original image source

Movements & Components · Watch movement

Watch movement, Sweden, 1700–1773

DocumentedDocumented from the holding institution's catalogue record.
Maker / attribution
Unrecorded in source
Date
1700–1773
Country of origin
Sweden
Place
Sweden
Object type
Watch movement
Holding institution
Sörmland Museum
Accession / object no.
SLM_item_291664
Catalogue title (original)
Urverk med urtavla av järn och tenn, monterad på träplatta (Swedish)

View the source record ↗

Record summary

Held and catalogued by Sörmland Museum (object number SLM_item_291664), this is a watch movement, made in Sweden, dated 1700–1773. The Atlas places it in the Early Modern Horology period (1600 – 1750) 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 Sörmland Museum (Swedish)

Urverk av järn. Kvadratisk urtavla av järn med sifferring av tenn. Svartfärgade romerska siffror. Liten palmett mellan siffrorna. Lökformad genombruten timvisare. I alla fyra hörnen fastskruvade dekorativa gjutna element (bly?) med spår av förgyllning. Dekorationerna består av ett lövverk med ett huvud påminnande om en påve med tiara, barock. Troligen 1700-talets mitt. Inköpt vid Smedsgården i Tunabergs socken för en krona. Jämför SLM 2960 - Väggur tillverkat av Anders Torsel (1710-1773) i Husby-Oppunda.

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 An editor-reviewed English translation has not yet been published; we do not publish machine translations as authoritative text.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