lot 375 This watch comes from a small series of precision watches which S. Smith & Son made at the beginning of the 20th century, most of which were submitted to the Kew Observatory trials. The present watch is of the largest size and would be classed as a deck watch, the movement was supplied by Bonniksen and then fi nished and adjusted by S. Smith & Son before for entry into the Observatory trials. This watch achieved 83.9 marks and the commendation ?Especially Good?.
Bahne Bonniksen, (1859-1935) is listed as working at 16 Norfolk St., Spoon End, Coventry. Bonniksen was born in Denmark and completed his horological apprenticeship under T. D. Wright in London, Wright was later appointed lecturer at the Northampton Polytechnic, London for his work on the theory of chronometer manufacture. After completing his apprenticeship Bonniksen moved to Coventry where he set up his workshops. In 1893 Bonniksen made an application to the British Patent Offi ce for his Karrusel regulator, in November of the same year he was granted Patent No.21421 for this invention. At the height of production, watches with his regulator were made under licence by several watchmakers in Coventry and no less than 500 watches per year with Bonniksen Karrusel regulators were submitted to the Kew Observatory in Teddington for certifi cation. Otto Sverdrup, captain of the ?Fram? and legendary Artic explorer said of the Bonniksen Karrusel upon returning from his expedition to Greenland (1898- 1902) that "the Karrusel in question has followed me on all sledge expeditions during these four years, and it has always proved to be one of the best pocket chronometers on board". Bonniksen went on to become Horological Instructor at the University of Coventry, and his patent and workshops were sold to the Rotherham watch company.
S. Smith & Son The leading London fi rm for high quality and complicated watches at the end of the 19th century and during the opening decades of the 20th, it was founded by Samuel Smith, jeweler and watchmaker, c. 1851. Alongside the wide range of civilian watches and clocks, Smith & Son also made chronometers which performed well and so the fi rm became a supplier to the Admiralty. Under the guidance of Herbert S.A. Smith, the fi rm developed into a large manufacturing company with its own research laboratories, the family succession being continued a further generation by Sir Alan Herbert Smith, with the company going on to make automobile and aircraft instruments alongside clocks and watches