Important Collectors Wristwatches Po...
Geneva, Hotel Des Bergues, Oct 21, 1995
LOT 849
Not signed, German, circa 1690. Exceptionally rare gilt-metal pocket knife containing a watch.
CHF 90,000 - 100,000
C. Cast and chased two piece in gilt bronze, the sides engraved with foliage on a hatched ground, with chevron pattern on the edges. D. Folding polished steel black with Roman numerals. Single blued-steel hand. M. Shaped brass plates, square section pinned pillars, fusee with chain, verge escapement with plain three am brass. In very good condition. Dim. 100 mm. closed.
Notes
Practical instruments mounted with mechanical
watches are rare from any period, but notably so
from the 17th Century and earlier. The Dresden
collection contains a watch mounted in a sword
pommel from the 16th Century, and at least one
powder flask with a watch survives.
The form of the knife now offered for sale and the
style of the engraving point to a date of circa 1700.
Alterations designed to improve the time-keeping
have been carried out to the movement, namely the
fitting of an end-plate on the cock, and possibly the
addition of the balance spring, although its absence
originally would not imply a dramatically earlier
date.