Francesco’s watches

A lover of beauty with an occasional weakness for luxury, in his frequent trips between the Low Countries and France, Francesco had accumulated a magnificent collection of French and German pendant watches from the early seventeenth century, and even some rare sixteenth century specimens; various contemporary oignon style watches, small alarm clocks, a few carriage clocks and travel clocks, with verge mechanisms and chimes of which, as a connoisseur, he was particularly fond. Yet, more and more, it was time itself—observed and measured on those enamelled faces—that bit by bit, left its mark on Francesco’s own face, like a fine blade cutting deeper and deeper. Like a condemned man, he felt the hours of his seductive power counting down, opening a silent autumnal sorrow in him. Not that he felt suffering or anguish, but he had the uneasy feeling of old age creeping into his future. An enormous solitude, the doomed daughter of liberty, oppressed him like the embrace of a lover no longer desired, as bittersweet as the smell of fermenting grapes on a damp October night.

Francesco Michiel, one of the characters in The Laws of Time, is a passionate collector of timepieces. But what kinds of clocks and watches did Francesco like and us? And how was time measured in 1730 Venice?

The twenty-four hours of the day were counted from half an hour, or three quarters of an hour, after sunset, when the Ave Maria sounded the twenty-fourth hour. With this method, the various moments of the day did not always fall at the same hour, as the hourly count depended on the extent of daylight and night.

To orient readers to the times of the day in The Laws of Time, this is the actual data, as it would be read today, for Venice on 9 November 1730: dawn was at 06:29, sunrise was at 07:01, sunset was at 16:47, dusk was at 17:08. There were 9 hours and 46 minutes of light. The twenty-fourth hour, which tolled the completion of the day, rang, then, at around 17:30. From that moment the count began for the new day, so that, at what we would now designate as six-thirty in the evening, the first hour sounded. Thus, when Catterina asked the hairdresser to return towards the twenty-fourth hour she intended five-thirty in the afternoon.

It should be added that the evening of November 9, 1730 was moonless and that, being a foggy season, the first light of the day did not appear with the rising of the sun, but took a little while to make its presence felt. In the afternoon, around 5.00 pm, it was already dark.

Pendant watch (or “neck-watch”) by John Harris, London, 1610

Pendant watch (in German: Halsuhr, “neck-watch”), or “Nürnberger Eieruhr”
Signed: Georg Schmidt Augsburg (1581-1608)
Augsburg, circa 1600.
Gilded bronze and silver.
Private collection

A large oignon watch with enamelled face, gilded case, chiselled with acanthus leaves and other plant motifs. Centre winding.
The model is signed GLORIA à Rouen (recognised watchmaker, referenced in 1696).
Private collection.

Oignon watch signed by Antoine Langlois Paris, early eighteenth century.
Gilded brass case. A single hand of burnished steel, gilded brass dial with hours in enamel.
Gilded brass movement with verge escapement, chain and fusée.
Private collection

Verge Fusee Oignon silver pocket watch made between 1690-1700 by the French watch master Bidard a Alençon.
Bidard produced only top quality watches, supplied to the french Royal Court of Louis XIV.
Gild verge movement, fusee, chain.

Rare horizontal table watch in bronze with hexagonal case, two dials with Roman numerals and Arabic numerals, key, 9 x 17 x 17 cm, ca 1700
Private collection

Corneilus Harbert, London Bridge
A highly unusual and extremely rare pair cased pre-balance spring verge watch, ca 1670 Gilt full plate movement, verge escapement, elongated floral engraved balance cock and foot, worm and wheel set-up, fusee and chain, unusual decorative pierced pillars
Silver dial with asymmetrically placed hour numerals, matte gilt centre with short hour hand, outer silver date ring with revolving pointer on a narrow gilt band
Plain polished inner case, the back with shuttered winding aperture, the outer case with fish skin covering and decorative silver piqué work with a pattern of rosettes
Movement signed Cornelius Harbert, London Bridg.
Diameter 52 mm.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

Cornelius Mellin, Blackfriars
An early and rare gilt-metal oval verge watch, ca 1610-1615
Gilt oval full plate movement, verge escapement

Verge Fusee Oignon gilded silver pocket watch, ca 1700’s, by Derabour a Paris.

Derabour a Paris supplied the french Royal Court of Louis XIV.

The watch is decorated with 96 small skulls, Memento mori.

The watch comes with the matching gild skulls chain fob.

Gilded verge movement, fusee chain, giant balance, fancy engraved and pierced balance cock depicting the French Bourbon Lily.

Private collection

Stunning and very early single handed oignon verge fusee pocket watch of the female watchmaker Elizabeth Coupe, watchmaker of French King Louis XIV of France, ca. 1680.
The present watch is signed with Coupe, so we can`t be shure if the watch was made by her or her father.
Elizabeth Coupe was the daughter of the famous watchmaker Jacques Coupe, who was also watchmaker to the King of France.

Jeremie Gregory, London
A fine and rare pair cased verge watch with date, ca 1665 Movement: gilded full plate movement, decoratively pierced and engraved cock with a serpent amidst flowers, oval foot, flat steel balance, worm and wheel set-up, silver regulation disc, fusee and gut line, Egyptian pillars.

Dial: gilt-brass, the chapter ring with Roman numerals and fleur-de-lys half hour marks, quarter hour divisions, gilded annular carrying a pointer indicating the date to the outer ring, dial centre with pierced and engraved vase of flowers, single short hour hand

Case: plain polished inner case, shuttered winding aperture to back • outer leather covered protective case with decorative gold piqué work, the back with four tulip flowers within a central ring

Diameter 51.5 mm

Sotheby’s sale, Private collection

John Snow, Salisbury
A fine and early silver and gilt-metal mounted oval verge watch, ca 1630

Movement: gilded oval full plate with engraved border, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and engraved pinned-on balance cock and foot, flat balance, ratchet and click set-up, gut line fusee, baluster pillars, signed Jo. Snow me fecit.

Dial: gilded, applied narrow silver chapter ring with Roman numerals and trefoil half-hour divisions, the centre with engraved townscape, broad river and two sailing vessels, outer border engraved with scrolling foliage, flowers and fruit, cherub head above 12 o’clock, blued steel double ended hand with classical convex terminal to the head.

Case: plain silver covers, the back with shuttered winding aperture, silver band engraved with two rabbits and strawberries, strawberry flowers and foliage against a hatched ground, the inside cover with a border of two palm stems, decoratively engraved gilded bezels, gilded fixed pendant and terminal, the flat pendant engraved and shaped.

With a brass crank key.

John Snow was established for some years in Salisbury and made both clocks and watches. John’s brother Nicholas was also a clockmaker and lived in Salisbury from 1629 until his death in 1644. As with John, lantern clocks signed by Nicholas Snow are also known. John died in 1661 and both he and his brother Nicholas are buried at the church of St. Thomas at Salisbury.

Sotheby’s sale, Private collection

Gilded bronze automaton clock depicting the winged lion of St Mark.
Augsburg (Augsburg, Germany) ca 1630
Probably made by watchmaker Hans Ferdinand Mehrer who, bypassing the rules of the guild, settled in Venice and worked for an Italian clientele.
Galerie J. Kugel, Exhibition Un bestiaire mécanique – Horloges à automates de la Renaissance, 2016

Baltazar Martinot, Verge Fusee Oignon silver oversize pocket watch
c1680
One of the most famous French watch makers, Baltazar Martinot à Paris was the official Clockmaker to the court of Louis XIV. He produced only high grade highly ornamented oignon verge fusee watches, specially for the Royal French Court.
Gild verge, fusee chain
Original key

Repeater Oignon Verge fusee circa 1700 by Pierre Romilly, Swiss master watchmaker, father of the famous watchmaker Jean Romilly.

Pair case made of silver. Both cases with very fine and pierced pattern of birds, dragon heads, dense foliage, fruit baskets, shells and a small cartridge with landscape, people and architecture.

Very decorative centre cartouche with the name of the watchmaker “Pierre Romilly” and the coat of arms of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the English Lion to the left and the Unicorn of Scotland to the right under the royal crown. Two fine iron hands. Engraved bezel.

Gilt full plate movement with verge escapement, chain and fusée.

Repeater with hammer on a bell.

Private collection

Watch by Johann Planckh († 1732), Graz.
Circa 1700.
Gilded brass, enamaled and gilded copper.

Pendant watch (in German: Halsuhr, “neck-watch”), in the shape of a book.
Michael Bommel, Nürnberg, 1630
Germanisches Nationalmuseum Nürnberg

A rare silver and gilt alarm oval clock watch by C. Cameel (aka Kamehl Casper), ca 1625
Full plate gilt brass verge movement, turned baluster pillars, fusee and gut line, the back plate signed Cameel Strasbourg, plain steel two-arm balance, pinned floral spray cock, wheel and click set-up, silvered regulation dial, the striking train with fixed gilt brass barrel pierced and engraved with scrolls • gilt dial finely engraved with cherubs, silver chapter ring with champlevé enamel Roman numerals, central alarm disc with indicating pointer, gilt dial finely engraved with two cherubs
The silver case with gilt edges, moulded to the front and back with arabesque, band fully pierced and engraved, each section interspersed with floral decoration, gilt pendant with loose ring

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

A gold oval verge watch by C. Cameel (aka Kamehl Casper), Strasbourg, ca 1630
Gilt brass movement signed C. Cameel, A. Strasbourg, pierced and engraved balance cock, pierced and engraved brackets for the worm and wheel set-up, fusee with gut line
Gilt dial with cloisonné decoration, Roman numerals
Plain oval case
Crank key
Length, including finial, 37 mm
Private collection

Portable Drum Watch
Christoph Schissler (1531–1608)
The earliest watches were small, portable versions of drum-shaped table clocks.

One of the most celebrated artisans of his time, Christoph Schissler gained an enormous reputation for the beauty and precision of his scientific instruments. In his workshop in Augsburg, he employed the best engravers and gilders and produced highly sought after objects. He worked in the service of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II of Hapsburg (1552–1612).

Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, USA

A very rare gilt-brass circular clock case, French, circa 1580
Horizontal dial with central alarm disc and touch pieces, later verge and balance watch movement, signed Heinric Wagner, Pirna, within a pierced drum case above a similarly pierced dome, the central band finely engraved with four portrait medallions divided by seated figures beneath a tree, moulded brickwork base incorporating a probable makers mark depicting a sun above an arm holding a bunch of flowers; together with a later cover and finial
16cm. 6¼in. high

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

David Ramsay
A significant and early gilt-metal and silver mounted tambour cased verge clock watch with alarm, ca 1615
Full plate movement, verge escapement, pierced and engraved pinned-on balance cock, plain steel balance, blued steel stop work for alarm and striking mechanisms and silver locking plate visible to the backplate, wheel and click set up, striking on a bell
Gilt dial engraved with flowers and foliage, putto holding blooms at 12, baskets of fruit and flowers at 3 and 9, at 7 and 5 a pair of squirrels and two strawberries by the movement catch, silvered chapter ring, Roman numerals, rotating central disc with blued steel bug for time indication, the alarm indicated by a central blued steel hand to the inner Arabic chapter ring
Gilt-metal pierced and engraved case consisting of stems and flowers and a continuous scroll terminating with a head, front cover reduced to a bezel, pierced silver band of flowers and scrolls with dolphins’ heads, fixed pendant
Movement signed David Ramsay me Fecit
Diameter 43 mm

This is a famous and well documented watch that was formerly in the Evan Roberts collection and was claimed by Roberts to have belonged to King James I. Although Ramsay was chief clockmaker to James I, there is no proof that this watch belonged to him and, unfortunately, Roberts offered no evidence for his assertion.
The early use of silver for the band emphasizes the quality and cost of the watch and, similarly, the dial’s silver chapter ring.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

Edward East, London
An exceptional gold and polychrome enamel watch, ca 1650
Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and engraved screwed-on balance cock depicting a dolphin and scrolling foliage, flat steel balance, worm and wheel set-up (the wheel later), fusee and gut line, baluster pillars
Movement signed Edwardus East Fecit
Dial: gold champlevé enamel with translucent polychrome enamel flowers against a white enamel ground, chapter ring with Roman numerals and half hour divisions, double ended tulip hand
Case: case and bezel similarly decorated, pendant with green and white enamel highlights with a plain silver outer protective case
Diameter 29.5 mm

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

Edward East, Londini
A very fine small gilt-metal and scallop shaped rock crystal verge watch, ca 1635-40
Gilt full plate movement, pierced and engraved pinned-on balance cock, plain steel balance, gut line fusee, ratchet and click set-up, turned baluster pillars
Engraved gilt dial, townscape to the centre with river and gnarled tree in the foreground, outer band with floral decoration, a putto’s head above twelve, applied silver chapter ring with Roman numerals and quarter-hour markings, blued steel hand
Faceted rock crystal case, bezel and case body with simple palm-leaf engraving Movement signed Edwardus East Londini
Length including pendant 42 x 26 mm

Without question one of the most important of early English watchmakers, Edward East was born in Southill, Bedfordshire in 1602. He lived through almost the entire 17th century and died in 1697 leaving an extraordinary legacy of exceptional watches and clocks.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

Verge Fusee self striking sonnerie regulator Oignon pair case pocket clock-watch, made by one of the most important English watch master from the “Golden Age of the English Watchmaking”-Charles Gretton, London ca 1678. Only 29 pocket watches are known to exist from this master. This watch was made specially for the Roman Cardinal Giambattista Spinola (1615–1704), Archbishop of Genoa.
The outer case is decorated with a hand carved scene: you can see the symbols of both secular and religious power: Papal Tiara, crowns, scepters, swords, and more – all being burnt to ashes. Only a skull remain after all. On the case is engraved the famous Latin Motto “Sic Transit Gloria Mundi”.
The dial is signed by the retail’s store name.

Issack Law, London
A small octagonal smoky quartz pre-hairspring verge watch, ca 1640
Gilt full plate movement signed Issack Law, Londini, Fecit, blued steel brackets for the worm and wheel set-up, finely pierced and engraved balance cock
Silver champlevé dial, Roman numerals, gilt outer disc for date indication, silver base with foliate engraving
Facetted octagonal smoked quartz case with engraved gilt band
Fitted case
Length 37 mm

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

James Vautrollier
A fine and rare silver and gilt-metal octagonal verge watch, ca 1630
Gilt brass octagonal full plate movement with decoratively engraved border, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and floral engraved pinned-on cock, flat steel balance, ratchet and click set-up, fuse and gut line, round baluster pillars
Gilt metal dial plate, the centre with engraved townscape scene with mountains in the background, the edge with engraved floral border and an angel’s head above 12 o’clock, applied silvered chapter ring with Roman numerals, blued steel hand
Centre of the hinged front cover with engraved figure of Chronos with hourglass in front of an advancing crowd, the facets to the inside with engraved floral wreath, the hinged back cover depicting Pluto carrying Prosperine away, inside back cover plain, the band with panels arranged in pairs and within foliage, each with a dolphin, accompanied by an owl, a hare and a bird and two reclining figures to the central side panels, decorative pendant and finial to base of case
Movement signed Ja. Vautrollier Fecit
Length including pendant 49mm x 25m

Vautrollier was one of the sixteen craftsmen who petitioned King James I in 1622 for a charter to form the London Clockmakers’ Company.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

John Cermoys
An oval silver and gilt metal pre-hairspring verge watch, ca 1640
Gilt full plate movement signed John Cermoys, pierced and engraved balance cock, worm and wheel set-up
Silver dial, Roman numerals, engraved centre depicting a man within a landscape, exterior with engraved floral decoration
The oval case with figures engraved to the covers, shell form keyhole cover, floral engraved band
Length 38 mm

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

John Drake
A splendid and rare silver verge watch in the form of a tulip bud, ca 1650
Gilt oval movement, verge escapement, the back-plate with pierced and floral engraved screw-on balance cock, ratchet set-up, gut line fusee
Silver dial with floral engraved centre and border, polished chapter ring with Roman numerals and quarter hour divisions, single blued steel hand
Silver case in the form of a Tulip bud, the pendant also of bud form • movement signed John Drake in fleet street
length including pendant 41 mm x 26 mm

John Drake became a Freeman of the Blacksmiths’ Company in 1605, a subscriber to the Clockmakers’ Company in 1630 and was active until after 1660. He seems to have been known for his poor temper, for when, in 1654, he was forced to pay fifteen years of quarterage arrears, he referred to a Warden as a ‘turd and a shitten fellow’.
Cast in the form of a tulip bud, this watch reflects the fashion for this flower during the 17th century. Tulips were – and are, of course – a well-loved flower. The price of tulip bulbs boomed in the 1630s only to implode at the end of the decade. Fortunes were made and lost. The centre of ‘tulipmania’ market in England was at the Royal Exchange.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

John Wills, London
A fine silver and tortoiseshell pair cased verge watch, ca 1685
Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, pierced and engraved balance cock decorated with a bird and symmetrical foliage, balance with spring, silver regulator plate, fusee and chain, tulip pillars. Signed John Wills, London
Dial: silver champlevé, Roman numerals, outer Arabic minute ring, inner half hour divisions, blued steel tulip and poker hands, cartouches to the centre signed Wills, London
Case: plain polished silver inner case with winding aperture, split bezel for glass retention, indistinct maker’s mark. Tortoiseshell outer case with applied pierced and engraved silver decoration depicting an allegorical figure amongst scrolling foliage inhabited by birds, a winged putto below, silver pin work to the bezels
Diameter of outer case 51 mm, inner case 46 mm

Generally speaking, dials were beginning to be signed during the period 1685-1690 and the dial on the present watch has especially well executed signature cartouches to its centre. The movement has an early application of the balance spring and a large silver regulator plate. The tortoiseshell outer case depicts a young woman to the centre holding a small dog, which may suggest faithfulness and thus fidelity, the eagles to either side are perhaps guarding her.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

David Ramsay
An important and early silver and gilt-metal oval astronomical verge watch with portrait engraving of King James I and indications for months with signs of the Zodiac, day with ruling planet, lunar date, moon-phases and planet hour. Ca 1618

Engraved dial plate, applied silver chapter ring with red Roman numerals, pierced rotating central disc with blued steel ground indicating the time, silver chapter ring with days of the month indicated by a blued steel bug mounted on a revolving gilt metal centre pierced and engraved with the months and the corresponding signs of the Zodiac, to the left: wedge shaped aperture for day of the week with engraving of the ruling planet, apertures for lunar date above moon-phases, further small aperture for planet hour to lower right, the days of the week and planet hours with fixed blued steel hands indicating direction of disc rotation, further fixed hand by lunar date aperture

Engraved scenes to the case covers from Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’, the front with putto beneath holding a tablet with engraver’s signature De Heck Scul, the inside of the upper cover engraved with the Royal Coat of Arms of King James I, the inside of the back cover with engraved miniature of King James after Simon de Passe, case band depicting Chronos supporting an hour-glass and Saint James the Greater with a petasus hat holding his sword and surrounded by flowers and foliage, heightened with red wax, gilt metal pendant in the form of addorsed reptiles

Movement signed David Ramsay Scotte Me Fecit

This magnificent watch was made by David Ramsay, one of the finest early makers and the first Master of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers at its formation in 1632. Born in Scotland c. 1585, he went to work in France, arriving in England in about 1610, at the request of King James I.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

William Partridge
A fine, rare and very small gold and polychrome enamel watch, ca 1640

Sumptuously decorated with cloisonné and champlevé enamels against a white ground, this wonderful small watch (29 mm diameter) has a jewel-like quality. The watch bears close similarities to contemporary French work of the Blois school, particularly in the enamel case and the style of the balance cock. Indeed, William’s wife that her husband had ‘improved’ his trade in France and Flanders and so it is unsurprising to find such stylistic influences. No other watch by William Partridge appears to be recorded.

Movement: gilded full plate, decoratively pierced and engraved screwed-on balance cock, ratchet and click set-up, plain balance, fusee and gut line, Egyptian pillars, signed Will. Partridge Fecit
Dial: gold, decorated with cloisonné and champlevé enamel flowers, foliage and geometric motifs against a white ground, chapter ring with Roman numerals and half hour divisions, double ended blued steel hand with foliate head
Case and bezel similarly decorated, pendant with green and blue enamel highlights

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

Single Hand Verge Fusee Oignon watch by André Hory à Paris c1680

Historic pocket watch made specially for the election of the Roman Pope Innocent XI in 1676.
Decorated with a skeleton leaning on a long case clock and holding the Papal Ferula staff. You also can see a fallen Papal Tiara, Bishop Tiara and Knights helmets, all fallen on the ground. It symbolizes the transience of human life: the exit is one and the same for all of us.
On the case is engraved the famous Latin Motto Sic Transit Gloria Mundi. On the case also is engraved on the bottom the Latin Phrase Habemus Papam.
Verge fusee movement.

$James Markwick, London An exceptionally fine silver and tortoiseshell pair cased two-train alarm verge watch, ca 1685 Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and engraved balance cock, blued steel stop-work for alarm visible to the backplate, fusee and chain, tulip pillars, standing barrel for alarm train with decorative pierced engraving. Signed Markwick London Case: inner fully decorated silver case, the centre of the case back with an urn surmounted by a bird and surrounded by further birds and scrolling foliage. Tortoiseshell outer case with symmetrically arranged pierced silver roundels, interspersed with silver pin work, the centre of the outer back with silver inlaid decoration depicting cupid with his bow to the centre, flying birds to the four corners and surrounded by large flower heads. James Markwick senior was apprenticed to Edward Gilpin in 1656 and freed in August 1666. He seems to have had a rather fractious relationship with the Clockmakers’ Company, being fined in 1677 for abuse of the Master and repeatedly fined for irregular attendance of the Clockmakers’ Court. Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.$

James Markwick, London
An exceptionally fine silver and tortoiseshell pair cased two-train alarm verge watch, ca 1685 Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and engraved balance cock, blued steel stop-work for alarm visible to the backplate, fusee and chain, tulip pillars, standing barrel for alarm train with decorative pierced engraving. Signed Markwick London
Case: inner fully decorated silver case, the centre of the case back with an urn surmounted by a bird and surrounded by further birds and scrolling foliage. Tortoiseshell outer case with symmetrically arranged pierced silver roundels, interspersed with silver pin work, the centre of the outer back with silver inlaid decoration depicting cupid with his bow to the centre, flying birds to the four corners and surrounded by large flower heads.

James Markwick senior was apprenticed to Edward Gilpin in 1656 and freed in August 1666. He seems to have had a rather fractious relationship with the Clockmakers’ Company, being fined in 1677 for abuse of the Master and repeatedly fined for irregular attendance of the Clockmakers’ Court.

Sold by Sotheby’s. Private collection.

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