Important Watches, Collector's Wristw...

Hotel Richemond, Geneva, Oct 13, 2001

LOT 772

John Midnall in Fleet Street Fecit (London), circa 1625.Extremely rare, very small, silver, pre balance-spring, single-hand pendant watch with silver protective case.

CHF 30,000 - 40,000

USD 18,200 - 24,000

Sold: CHF 71,300

C. Two-body, oval "bassine", back chased and engraved with flowers, circular shuttle over the winding aperture, oval hinged bezel decorated en suite with circular aperture in the center for the dial protected by a crystal with gilt retaining ring, swivel pendant, loose ring. Outer: two-body, each made from two pieces soldered together, hinged (five links), polished, small loop-hook for locking . D. Oval, hinged, silver chased and engraved with flowers with applied circular silver hour chapter rig with Roman numerals and dot half-hour divisions, small four locating prongs. Blued steel "tulip" hand. M. Oval, 24,5 x17,2 mm, gilt full plate engraved around the border at the upper part, early pierced Egyptian pillars, fusee and cat-gut, verge escapement with circular foliot, small irregular pinned cock, short, three-wheel train, ratchet wheel and click mainspring set-up with elaborate blued steel clickSigned on the back plate.Dim. 36,7 x 22,9 mm


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3 - 21*
Dial: 3 - 01

Notes

John Midnallwas one of the first members of the court of the Clockmakers Company, and warden in 1638. It seems that he specialized in small watches, very rare for the period and must have been esteemed by his contemporaries Oliver Cromwell, "Lord Protector of England", owned one of watches (now in the British Museum, bequeathed in 1874 by the Fellows Collection). There are a few other examples of Midnall's work, one in the Metropolitan Museum of Art (from the Pierpont Morgan Collection), another, incompletein the British Museum (from the Octavius Morgan Collection) and one in the form of a marrow in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge.It is unusual to find English watches of the period; they were scarce then and now very rarely appear on the market. It is even more unusual to find one with its original protective case and in such good condition. Except for the missing cat-gut, case catch and replaced set-up ratchet spring, everything else, including the crystal, appears to be original.