Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, 61 Strand, London, No. 30077, with London hallmarks for 1864. Fine 18 ct. gold and enamel, hunting cased, quarter repeating keyless pocket chronometer made expressly for Mr. R.M. Fortunato. | Important Collectors Wristwatches Pocket Watches & Clocks | Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, 21st October 1995

Important Collectors Wristwatches Po...

Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Oct 21, 1995

LOT 180

Dent, Watchmaker to the Queen, 61 Strand, London, No. 30077, with London hallmarks for 1864. Fine 18 ct. gold and enamel, hunting cased, quarter repeating keyless pocket chronometer made expressly for Mr. R.M. Fortunato.

CHF 32,000 - 36,000

C. Four body, massive, "bassine et filets", engineturned with reeded band, marked "A.S." (Alfred Stram), a small champlevé enamelled coat-of-arms applied on the cover. Hinged gold cuvette. D. White enamel with Roman numerals and offset sunk subsidiary seconds. Blued steel "pear hands". M. 20"' frosted and gilt, three-quarter plate, 15 jewels in gold setting for the going train, fusee with chair and maintaining power, Earnshaw type spring detent escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with timing screws, free sprung blued steel helical spring with terminal curves, diamond endstone. Quarter repeating on gongs with slide in the band. Free winding crown with button for winding and invisible push piece for setting the ends, according the the Octave Vivier Patent No. 158 of 21st January 1860. Signed on the back plate. In very good condition, with photocopy of the winding patent. Diam. 54 mm.

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Notes

Note: By pushing a visible push-piece in the band, the winding system gets engaged and the movement may be wound by the winding crown which otherwise turns freely. By pressing an ahnost invisible push-piece in the band, marked by two points on the bezel and the back, the hands may be adjusted. This push-piece can only be moved by pushing with the nail exactly according to the configuration of the case. Because of this carefully concealed mechanism, one might think that this watch was used as a deck watch, and only its owner knew how to set it. Dent modified the winding and lime setting mechanism, based on an invention and construction by the watch-maker Octave Vivier, patented in Birmingham in 1860. According to the hallmarks for 1864, this watch must have been finished by the step-son Richard Rippon Jr., who changed his naine to Richard Edward Dent in 1850.