Important Watches Wristwatches, and C...

The Furama Hotel Hong Kong, Victoriana Room, Jun 05, 2000

LOT 358

George Graham, London, No. 5980, with London hallmarks for 1740.Very fine and rare silver gilt pair-cased centre-seconds stop-watch.

HKD 88,000 - 104,000

USD 11,000 - 13,000

Sold: HKD 241,500

C. Double-body, outer and inner, both polished by John Ward (Master mark) the inner one with winding hole shutter. D. Champlevé silver with Roman numerals and outer Arabic minutes and seconds ring. Blued steel ?poker and beetle? hands, counterpoised polished steel seconds hand. M. Hinged gilt brass full plate with Egyptian pillars, fusee with chain, cylinder escapement with large brass escape wheel, plain brass three-arm balance, flat balance spring. Gilt brass English cock pierced and engravedith foliage, diamond end-stone. Gilt brass dust cap. Stop-watch bolt in the dial plateSigned on back plate and dust cap.Diam. 56 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 4

Fair
Movement: * 3
Dial: 3 - 5 - 01

Notes

Very fine example of an early stop-watch with cylinder escapement, produced by the celebrated George Graham. According to Charles Allix (Antiquarian Horology, September 1976, pp. 852 to 860), very few cylinder watches by Graham with stop-work are known to exist, most of them were fitted with an enamel dial, blued steel poker and beetle hands and polished steel centre-seconds. This watch is fitted with a silver champlevé dial of outstanding quality. The case carries the London hallmarks for 1740nd the case maker mark ?JW? which is to be found on almost all Graham watches of the period. The gold cases cylinder watches No. 5438, from 1732, and 6301, from 1747, were both fitted with an enamel dial.Most of the watch cases made for Thomas Tompion and George Graham were produced by John Ward.George Graham (1673-1751)In 1688 he became apprentice to Henry Aske for seven years. He was admitted a freeman of the Clockmaker?s Company in 1695 and immediately entered the service of Thomas Tompion. In 1696 he married Tompion?s niece, Elizabeth. After the death of Tompion in 1713, Graham continued the business at the same address, at the sign of The Dial and Three Crowns, at the corner of Water Lane, in Fleet Street, London. In 1720 he moved to new premises, The Dial and One Crown, on the other side of the same stree, nearer Fleet Bridge, where he remained until his death. Graham was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in 1721 and chosen as Member of the Council of that body in 1722. He contributed 21 papers on various subjects to the Philosophical Translations. He became Master of the Clockmaker?s Companyin 1722. After the expiration of Booth, Houghton and Tompion?s patent, Graham devoted some thought to the cylinder escapement, which in 1725 he improved to practically its present form and after 1726 introduced it into all his watches. For pendulum clocks he invented the dead-beat escapement in 1715 and the mercury pendulum in 1726.John WardJohn Ward was apprentice to William Sherwood and later became his successor. He made watch cases for George Graham during over 20 years, the first one punched with Master mark being hallmarked for 1730 and the last one for 1751.Information kindly provided by Mr. Jeremy Evans, from the British Museum.