The 17th Century, the Golden Age of Watchmaking (Part 1)
By: Sílvio Pereira
Belflevr a Montpelier | 1680 | Single hand | Brass
Brass plates, fusee movement, verge escapement with Tompion regulator, large balance cock with a “D”-shaped foot. Single hand for the hours. Egyptian pillars of early style
The arrival in the collection of the watch shown above led me to try to understand its history, as always happens when a new piece joins the collection. The research led me to “navigate” the intricacies of 17th-century watchmaking, and the wealth of innovation I found, both in technique and in materials, made me decide to write this article.
It was in this century that the most important components of a watch were invented, components that are still in use today:
the pendulum,
the balance spring,
the balance wheel and its richly worked bridges (cocks),
the application of the verge escapement to pocket watches,
the regulating system for the balance spring
and, although the mainspring had been invented in the 16th century, its system was improved in this century through the introduction of a fusee, which gave the mechanism greater accuracy and precision.
It was also in this century that several horological complications were invented:
the minute hand,
the alarm,
the date,
and the repeater.
In the course of my research I was confronted with the fact that, throughout this century, watchmaking evolved in parallel in two countries, England and France, but also, to a lesser degree, in Geneva (at the time Switzerland did not exist as we know it today), in the Netherlands and in Germany. As the wealth of information I gathered is so vast, I decided to divide this work into two or three parts so that reading it would not be too tedious.
Happy reading!
17th Century (part one)
During the 17th century, England and France developed their own styles of watchmaking. The difference lay essentially in the cases, since the movements were practically identical in their construction. What characterised both was the fact that all movements had a single hand, the hour hand. Besides these two great watch-producing countries, the Netherlands, Switzerland (more precisely Geneva) and Germany were also references, preferably following the French style. In 1675 the balance spring was introduced, leading to fierce disputes over who should be credited as its inventor. After an erratic phase lasting 5 years, the balance spring began to be fitted to all portable timepieces, considerably increasing their accuracy.
The leading producer of watches, in terms of number and quality, was England, followed by France and Geneva. The Swiss would come to lead the watch market at the beginning of the 20th century, but at that time they were mainly engaged in copying the work of some well-known English watchmakers, such as the famous names Thomas Tompion and Daniel Quare, sometimes misspelling their names or even inventing non-existent English watchmakers in order to sell their low-quality products. This practice would continue until the middle of the 19th century, when some French watchmakers would also be copied, as was the case with Abraham Breguet, Ferdinand Berthoud and Le Roy, among others.
England
English watchmakers were very prolific, especially at the end of the 17th century, taking advantage of the exodus of Protestants from France, which included many talented watchmakers. English customers preferred plain round or oval watches (Puritan style), with a few exceptions such as octagonal ones with fairly plain surfaces. The decoration of the cases was limited to engraving and leather coverings.
Gold appliqué on a leather case from the late 1600s. ©Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
Some leather-covered cases were decorated with small gold or silver inlays applied directly to the leather to obtain specific shapes, such as a coat of arms, for example. Different materials were used in making the cases, such as gold and silver, tortoiseshell and sometimes precious stones and even ivory. The dials were made of gold, silver or enamel, with Roman numerals for the hours and Arabic numerals for the minutes.
English silver balance cocks: left, 1675 - 1685; right, 1685 - 1710
The cocks (balance bridges), at first identical to the French ones, were slowly developed from 1680 into a single “D”-shaped foot with a broad surface to protect the balance, which became even larger at the end of the 17th century. This evolution was due to the invention of the balance spring (hairspring), attributed to Christiaan Huygens, a Dutch mathematician, physicist and astronomer. To accommodate the balance spring, the cock had to be increased in diameter, with three, sometimes four, fixing points replacing the two earlier versions, which were smaller and had one or two fixing points. The introduction of the balance spring triggered a strange phase in which removing the fusee from the construction of the movement was considered a logical consequence. This phase, which lasted from 1675 to 1680, has left us with strange watches that have a balance spring but no fusee, as happened in some watches by Thomas Tompion and by French watchmakers such as Isaac Thuret, Balthazar Martinot and others. Seeing that the accuracy of the watch suffered from the absence of the fusee, it was reintroduced in 1680. Another new development, the work of an English watchmaker, came to revolutionise the watchmaking industry: the introduction of the minute hand by Daniel Quare (the invention of the minute hand was attributed to Huygens). Daniel Quare is also thought to have invented the repeating mechanism.
“Date” complication and hour disc in place of a hand
The date watch by Samuel Betts, London, 1650
Brass plates, fusee movement, verge escapement (plate diameter 39.1 mm and 8 mm between them), symmetrical oblong cock fixed with one screw. With Egyptian pillars, metal chain, two small balances. The hour hand, normally in blued steel, is replaced by a silvered disc engraved with the image of Chronos, who shows the hours by pointing his left index finger at the Roman numerals. On the outer edge of the dial, a steel hand in the shape of a ‘Fleur de Lys’ marks the date engraved on a silvered disc (running anticlockwise).
In the middle of the 17th century, movements became more elaborate and began to feature different complications. The watch above has a date function, and the hour hand is replaced by a disc depicting Chronos, the Greek god of time. Chronos was also associated with death and taken as a symbol of the absence of life (Memento Mori).
Only about 5 watches of this type are known; one of them is in the Dover Museum (GB), and another, made by John Cooke (London), is in the collections of the British Museum. The Chronos theme was reintroduced in watches made during the 19th century.
“Alarm” complication
The alarm watch by Nicholas Fetters, London, 1655. ©Ashmolean Museum, Oxford
A watch with a similar depiction is on display at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford. Unlike the one built by Samuel Betts, this one has no date complication but an alarm. Nicholas Fetters’ silver watch has an alarm hand in ‘Fleur de Lys’ style fixed to the alarm dial disc, which is engraved with the Greek god Mercury pointing his index finger. The hour hand is of blued steel, but is not original.
Samuel Betts, 1645-1673
Samuel Betts (active between 1645 and 1673) continued to work at the back of the Royal Exchange, and is thought to have died before 1673, when “Mr. Marquet” (Markwick?) advertised himself in the London Gazette as the successor to “Mr. Samuel Betts, deceased”. In 1656, Betts attested to the authenticity of the masterpiece “Lello’s Masterpiece to the Clockmakers Company”. Betts is frequently associated with Edward East (1610-1693), who is generally regarded as one of the finest watchmakers of the period, having been watchmaker to Kings Charles I and Charles II.
An identical watch by Samuel Betts is part of the watch collection of the ‘Musée Paul – Dupuy’ in Toulouse, France: Inv. No. 18224
Regulation of the balance spring
Torin, London, c. 1675
Brass plates, fusee movement and verge escapement (plate 42.5 mm, 12.2 mm between plates) with Tompion regulator dial of the early type. With Egyptian pillars. Missing: the chain, the cock (the cock foot did not yet have the “D” shape), the balance, the balance spring, the dial and the hand.
First balance spring regulating mechanism; Nathaniel Barrow and Thomas Tompion
Barrow regulator: Jacob and Bulet, Geneva 1680. ©Photo: Christies's, Auction 1398, Lot 176
From the moment watchmakers began to use the balance spring, in 1675, its tension needed to be regulated in order to control the rate of oscillation of the balance, with the aim of improving the accuracy of the watch. It is important not to confuse the systems for regulating the tension of the mainspring (an arrangement of chains and wheels, called the fusee, already in use at the beginning of the 17th century) with the system for regulating the balance spring. The first balance spring regulating systems used long screws (Barrow regulator), and most of them did not allow the tension of the balance spring to be adjusted as needed. This problem was solved with the introduction of the regulator dial. The first regulator dials were very small and were held by a blued-steel pointer (with one or two fixing screws), as in the Torin movement above. Later, regulator dials increased in diameter and were secured by a pin both on their arbor and on the movement underneath. The indexes could be shown with Roman or Arabic numerals, with lines or with dots. Although named after Thomas Tompion (Tompion regulator), who probably introduced this system into England, it was certainly invented in France by Isaac Thuret, the first to use a balance spring in a watch. A new system for regulating the balance spring would be invented by Joseph Bosley in 1755.
William Bartrem, London, 1680
Brass plates, fusee movement, verge escapement (plate 41.3 mm, 10 mm between plates) with Tompion regulator, cock foot still without the “D” shape. With tulip pillars of early style, without dial or hand.
William Bartrem, probably the son of Simon Bartram, is recorded as a member of the “Clockmakers Company of London” in 1684. Simon Bartrem (active 1630 - 1690) was part of the first Court (as an Assistant) of this Company in 1631.
Clockmakers Company of London
During the 16th century, English clockmakers were, for the most part, confined to the production of turret and church clocks. Domestic clocks were mostly imported or made by immigrants from the Continent. Since turret clockmaking involved working in ferrous metal, the clockmakers within the City of London tended to be Blacksmiths. These craftsmen worked every kind of metal, chiefly in the making of horseshoes.
The growth of the domestic clock industry, however, led to a feeling that this was a separate craft. Resentment grew among the clockmakers who had established themselves in London, as well as towards the outsiders who had settled in or near the City and were threatening their market. From 1622, groups of London clockmakers undertook a series of political manoeuvres designed to undermine and discredit the Blacksmiths’ Company. They failed at first to obtain the recognition they sought, but by 1629 they had accumulated enough credibility to petition the Crown for the establishment of an independent organisation to represent them. To the dismay of the Blacksmiths, who believed themselves to be the sole representatives of the Clockmaking Art, the clockmakers received their Charter from the hands of King Charles I on 22 August 1631
The Charter gave the clockmakers the power to control the horological trade in the City of London and within a radius of 16 km around it. It incorporated a governing body which was to continue for ever under the style and name of “The Master, Wardens and Fellowship of the Art and Mystery of Clockmaking”. This organisation was administered by a Master, three Wardens and ten or more Assistants who would form the Court, and it went on to name the first masters by name.
The first Master was David Ramsay, a Scotsman, who had been appointed watchmaker to James VI of Scotland, later James I of England.
The museum of the Clockmakers Company of London, founded in 1814, is the oldest existing collection devoted specifically to clocks, watches and sundials. The collection is currently open to the public in the ‘Time Gallery’ of the Science Museum (London).
John Purdew, London, ca. 1680
Brass plates, fusee movement, verge escapement (plate 37.3 mm, 8.8 mm between plates) with Tompion regulator, cock still without the “D” shape. With Egyptian pillars of early style, without dial or hands.
“Repeater” complication
Daniel Quare (c.1648 - 1724)
Master of the Clockmakers Company of London in 1708. He was the inventor of the repeating movement. He was also the first to use a minute hand, a feature invented by the Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens. Quare was an arch-rival of Thomas Tompion, and as a practising member of a religious body (Religious Society of Friends) this situation prevented his appointment as the King’s Watchmaker. He was nevertheless a regular visitor to the Royal Palace. In 1709 he took on Stephen Horseman as an apprentice, who later became his partner. Although not all the watches are numbered, the known production numbers lie between 233 and about 4989, and with Horseman as partner they reached about 5500, with a separate series (109 - 857) for his repeating watches. He had a very successful business, counting many members of the Nobility and foreign ambassadors among his clientele.
Daniel Quare, London, Ca. 1685
Brass watch (inner case 51.3 mm in brass), fusee movement, verge escapement, with Tompion regulator, large-diameter “D”-shaped cock. With Egyptian pillars, signed ‘QUARE LONDON’, with blued-steel hour hand.
-Private collection in the United Kingdom-
Daniel Quare, London, Ca. 1690
Brass plates, fusee movement, verge escapement (top plate 43.7 mm, 10.6 mm between plates) with Tompion regulator, “D”-shaped cock foot, small-diameter cock and Egyptian pillars. Missing: dial plate, motion work, dial and hands. The construction of the movement indicates that it was built with hour and minute hands (unlike the Quare above).
-Private collection in the United Kingdom-
Gold in watch cases
Jonathon Purchis, Margate, No. 31, ca. 1780, 22 ct gold pair case, 1690
Verge pocket watch, the movement made by Jonathon Purchis in Margate, Kent, around 1780. The engraved 22 ct gold pair case is much older, made in 1690. Brass movement with engraved and pierced balance cock. Six spokes on the 3rd and 4th wheels (a sign of good quality). The white enamelled copper dial is about 35.5 mm in diameter.
Inner case (41.5 mm) marked 1690, 22 ct gold, maker SWF? Dust cap. Outer case (46.2 mm) with decoration identical to the inner one.
-Private collection (United Kingdom)-
This wonderful and very early gold pair case is extremely rare. The earliest known hallmarks on gold cases date from only a few years before, around 1683. The movement is perfectly fitted to the case, with the pendant and the winding arbor lining up perfectly with the case and the hinge lugs. It is likely that the movement was made to measure to fit this case.
The previous owner contacted the best-known specialist in English hallmarks: Philip Priestley, who has written two books on the subject. His comment was: “You are very lucky to have one of the earliest English pieces in 22 ct gold.”
End of part one
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