Charles FasoldtAmong American watchmakers of the second half of the nineteenth century, there are two that clearly distinguished themselves: Potter and Fasoldt. Fasoldt, a very colorful individual, was born in Germany in 1818. Sentenced to death for taking part in the 1848 Revolution, he escaped from prison and sailed to the United States. He began making watches in Rome, New York and subsequently moved to Albany, where he established an impressive enterprise that produced clocks, micrometric gratings, microscpes and, of course, his famous watches. Selling between $150 and $300 - quite expensive for the time - Fasoldt's watches were made according to his distinct design, which almost always included his patented chronometer lever escapement. Fasoldt also experimented with keyless winding and setting, of which the described watch is an excellent example. He often used E.H. Humbert cases - as in the described watch. The case of this watch is almost identical to the one found in the preceding Lot 435.The escapement that he patented on March 7, 1865 is an amazingly reliable one. It does not need oil, has very strong draw on both locking pallets and setting is practically impossible. Fasoldt made a very interesting and picturesque experiment demonstrating the reliability of his escapement-he tied his watch, along with other maker's watches to the drive rod of the Empire Express locomotive. During the bouncy trip from Albany to New York and back his watch made only a few minutes difference. Theother maker's watches stopped within the first few minutes of the trip.