Charles Frodsham, 84 Strand Soon after John Roger Arnold?s death in 1843, Charles Frodsham approached his executor, Richard Steele, and succeeded in buying the business at 84 Strand together with the stock in trade. The firm then became known as Arnold & Frodsham, a wise move as the name of Arnold was renowned the world over. 84 The Strand was at one time the ?Cecil Coffee House? which had a cornerstone dated 1696. The name ?Arnold & Frodsham? was retained by Charles until 1858 when the firm became ?Charles Frodsham, 84 Strand. The present clock can therefore be dated to after 1858.
Charles Frodsham (1810-1871) Was the most celebrated of the numerous Frodsham family of watchmakers and was a prominent maker of very high grade chronometers and watches. In 1868 he devised a form of electrical contact for taking signals for chronometers. The company he founded continued after his death. Some time before the middle of the last century, the company began making lever escapement and chronometer escapement watches of the very highest quality and continued to do so until the outbreak of war in 1939. For the 1851 Great Exhibition, they introduced a three-quarter plate calibre which they marked "AD.Fmsz", which continued subsequently to be put on all their highest grade work.
The significance of "AD.Fmsz", is said to be found by putting the name of Frodsham against numbers thusF R O D S H A M Z1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0Hence FMSZ gives the date 1850.During the first part of this century the firm was closely connected with Nicole Nielsen who made most of the movements, including some of the most perfect tourbillons ever made, and which still perform with almost unrivaled accuracy. While certain other watches became increasingly ugly during the 19th and 20th century, Frodsham watches are almost always elegant and well proportioned and, even as late as 1914, some of them, with engine-turned silver dials, were worthy of Breguet.