Exceptional Horological Sale Celebrat...

Hotel Noga Hilton, Geneva, Apr 24, 2004

LOT 131

Charles Frodsham, by Appointment to the Queen, 115 New Bond St., late of 84 Strand, London, No. 08616, Ad. Fmsz, hallmarked 1897-98, movement supplied by Nicole Nielsen & Co., entered in stock 1898, ordered by J. Pierpont Morgan and given to P. M. H in 1913. Exceptional and highly important 18K gold large keyless one-minute tourbillon regulator with minute-repeating, split-seconds chronograph and 60-minute register, accompanied by Certificate of Origin.

CHF 200,000 - 300,000

EUR 126,000 - 300,000 / USD 156,000 - 234,000

C. Four-body, "pommes", massive, made by Harrison Mill Frodsham, polished, gold hinged cuvette, swivel anti-theft pendant by "GJ".D. Off-white enamel, by master dialmaker Willis, radial Roman numerals, outer minute divisions, outermost seconds divided into fifths, subsidiary sunk minute register at 9, subsidiary sunk seconds symmetrically at 3. Blued steel "spade" hands.M. 52.3 mm (23???), frosted gilt, 3/4-plate, 18 jewels, some in screwed chatons, one-minute equidistant 3-arm steel tourbillon carriage poised with gold screws as in a compensation balance and by friction-fit gold nut set on eccentric post for micrometric adjustment, lateral counterpoised lever escapement, cut-bimetallic compensation balance with gold temperature and mean-time screws, double-overcoiled freesprung Breguet balance spring with inner and outer Phillips curves, Nicole Nielsen chronograph mechanism driven from the toothed carriage, while the register is driven directly from the 2nd wheel, repeating on gongs through activating slide in the band.Signed on dial and movement, case punched with H.M. Frodsham mark, movement and case with the same serial number.Diam. 63 mm.


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Grading System
Grade:
Case: 3

Good
Movement: 3*

Good

Overhaul recommended, at buyer's expense
Dial: 3 - 19 - 01

Notes

Provenance: Formerly in the Bradley Martin collection. The watch is the first in the famous series of the 25 exceptional complicated watches with one-minute tourbillon ordered by J. Pierpont Morgan, which over the years he gave to his partners, closest friends, and family. According to Mr. Henry Morgan, Jr., the grandson of J.P. Morgan, the watches were given by Morgan to new partners in his bank. Since there were not many partners, the watches were ordered in small batches. The last two of the watches were discovered in Mr. Morgan?s bank vault after his death and were given to his grandsons. As with most of the best-quality watches signed by Charles Frodsham, the movement of this watch was produced by the Nicole Nielsen Co., the finest English watchmakers of the day. Literature: Vaudrey Mercer, "The Frodshams, the story of a family of Chronometer Makers", London, 1981. Nicole Nielsen & Co. Perhaps the leading manufacturers of complicated watches in late 19th century London, the Nicole Nielsen firm made watches and carriage clocks for leading makers such as Frodsham, but also marketed under their own name. The firm originated in 1840 when Adolphe Nicole, a partner in the firm of Nicole & Capt, Geneva, decided to settle in London where he ran a branch of the firm at 80b Dean Street. In 1844 Nicole registered a patent, no. 10348, for keyless winding and a type of chronograph. From 1858 the firm was at 14 Soho Square, where it remained for the next 75 years. In 1862 Nicole patented his chronograph stop system, which incorporated a fly-back mechanism, and in 1876 the place of the recently deceased Jules Capt was taken by Sophus Emil Nielsen who in 1884 patented an ?up and down? mechanism. In 1888 the firm was purchased by R.B. North, Nielsen being retained as joint managing director with Harrison Mill Frodsham. In 1888 the firm became known as Nicole Nielsen & Co. In 1903 North obtained a patent for ?revolving escapements? and soon afterwards the firm produced a small series of grande sonnerie carriage clocks fitted with tourbillon escapements. From 1904 onwards the firm began to manufacture speedometers, at first selling the output to S. Smith & Co, and later to Frodsham. In 1917 the name of the firm was changed to North & Sons Ltd, and it continued in business until 1933.