Exceptional Horological Works of Art

Geneva, Oct 19, 2002

LOT 106

Charles Frodsham, Ad. Fmsz, by Appointment to the King, No. 115 New Bond Street, late of 84 Strand, London, No. 09190/12127, movement by Nicole Nielsen, case by Harrison Mill Frodsham, hallmarked 1906-1907. Exceptionally fine and rare 18K gold, keyless free-sprung six-minute tourbillon regulator, Class A Kew Observatory certificate of 1906.

CHF 1 - 1

EUR 1 - 1

Sold: CHF 91,500

C. Four-body, "bassine et filets", made by "HMF", polished, gold hinged cuvette engraved with presentation text to Jonathan Mann, Esq., swivel pendant. D. Off white, by Willis, Roman numerals, outer minute track, subsidiary sunk seconds. Blued steel "spade" hands. M. 48 mm. (22???), 3/4-plate, gilt brass, 22 jewels, top ones in gold settings, lateral calibrated lever escapement, cut bimetallic compensation balance with gold screws, blued steel Breguet balance spring, equidistant Nielsen carriage, Nicole Nielsen keyless winding/setting mechanism. Signed on dial and movement, dial signed on the reverse by the dialmaker Willis, case by the casemaker Harrison Mill Frodsham. Diam. 60 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 01

Notes

An identical watch with the serial number 09099 is illustrated in "Le Tourbillon" by Reinhard Meis, Paris, 1990, p. 211. The watch is illustrated on pl. 89, p. 418 of Vaudrey Mercer?s The Frodshams, the story of a family of Chronometer Makers, London, 1981. In October 1906 the company obtained Class A Kew Certificate for the watch with 84.6 points. It is interesting to note that Frodsham paid £52 to Nicole Nielsen for the movement, which was delivered on March 25, 1907. Charles Frodsham (1810-1871) was the most celebrated of the large 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. The firm was appointed watchmaker to the King, The Prince of Wales, and Queen Alexandra. They were responsible for the maintenance and winding of all the clocks at Buckingham Palace, where they had a workshop until 1877. At 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 WWII in 1939. For the 1851 exhibition, they introduced a three-quarter plate caliber which they marked "AD.Fmsz", which continued subsequently to be put on all their highest grade work. The significance of "AD.Fmsz", found by placing the name of Frodsham against numbers, thusly: F R O D S H A M / 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0. Hence 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 (including this one), and which still perform with almost unrivaled accuracy. Frodsham?s best cases were made by his son, Harrison Mill Frodsham (1849-1922), who took over the firm after his father death and proved to be an expert horologist. We are gratful to Charles Frodsham Company for their kind assistance in providing us with production details of the watch.