Antique Watches.
Watches
Pocket watches
The first pocket watches, made during the second half of the 16th century, were powered by a three-wheel train, a fusee, and a verge escapement. By the beginning of the 17th century the familiar four-wheel train was introduced when it was realized that a higher wheel count effected a smoother transmission of power. Distinctively, watches of this early date have only one hand – this was typical until the late 17th century. Reflecting the puritanical climate of the period, British mid-17th-century 7th-century watches are usually either very plain or decorated only with simple engraving. Continental watchmakers created watches with highly coloured and beautifully painted enamel cases. Watches pre-dating BEFORE 1800
By the end of the 17th century Britain was producing the finest and most innovative watches. A particular feature of watches before c.1720 is the chanzpleve dial, made of metal inlaid with black wax; after c.1720 enamelled dials were more popular. A watch with a champleve dial, verge fusee movement, and pair cases (inner and outer cases) can be dated to the late 17th or early 18th century. Minute hands were introduced during this period and provided more accurate time readings. Watches at this time were mostly the preserve of members of the court and wealthy merchants.
During the second half of the 18th century, watches became more generally accessible, as the methods of production became more advanced. The pair-cased verge watch was the most common. Component parts were largely unchanged from the late 17th century; although usually made of silver, they were also made of gold.
AFTER 1800
The general construction of the watch did not change until the very beginning of the 19th century when watchmakers in continental Europe started to produce slimmer watches, often still using the traditional verge escapement. High-quality, decorative, enamelled cases are often a feature of watches of c.1800; some were produced with novelty cases in the shape of violins, beetles, pistols, and snuff-boxes.
During the mid-19th century the keyless watch with winding as an inbuilt mechanism was introduced, and by the 1870s most pocket watches were keyless. Watches became slimmer in design and several different
types were introduced, the most common being open-faced (glazed front, hinged back cover), half-hunting-cased (hinged front cover with small glazed aperture, chapter ring, and hinged back cover), and hunting-cased (hinged covers at both the front and back). During the 19th century the two dominant types of escapement were the cylinder and the lever. The cylinder, although widely used, was eventually superseded by the more efficient lever.
While complicated and precision watches
have been produced throughout watchmaking history, these were often one-off pieces or regarded as scientific instruments rather than practical, everyday watches. Toward the end of the 19th century, however, a great variety of special features was added to more standard pocket watches, including repeating mechanisms that sounded the hours, quarter hours, and sometimes also the minutes, calendarwork, chronograph (stopwatch) mechanisms, and moonphases. Such watches typify the high-quality Swiss work produced at the end of the 19th century and are highly collectable.
Before 1800
• CASES in the 16th and early 17th centuries, most cases were single and either plain, engraved, or enamelled –when decoration is present it is usually of a religious nature; later cases were typically pairs and of silver, gold, or gilt metal
• DIALS engraved metal was popular until the mid-17th
i
champleve dials were typical in the late
century
17th and early 18th centuries
• HANDS most clocks featured a single hand until the late 17th century; two hands were typical thereafter, usually in the “beetle and poker” design
• MOVEMENT most watches from the 18th century were fitted with a verge escapement
• COLLECTING even 19th-century copies of early watches are reasonably valuable
After 1800
• DESIGNS watches were slimmer after c. f800 especially in continental Europe; by the 1870s the majority of pocket watches were keyless
• CASES most are decorative and of painted enamel; novelty shapes popular in the early 19th century; from the mid-19th century cases were of three principal types: open-faced, half-hunting-cased, or hunting-cased
• DIALS enamelled dials are typical; many watches also feature several subsidiary dials
• MOVEMENTS various escapements were used, including verge, cylinder, and lever mechanisms
• COLLECTING watches with chronographs, repeating mechanisms, moonphases, and calendars are especially collectable
Important makers
British: Thomas Tompion ( 1638-1713); Daniel Quare (1648-1724); George Graham (1674-1751); L.J. Dent: 1790-1853; Charles Frodsham (1810-71); French: Abraham-Louis Breguet (1747-1823); Vacheron & Constantin (est. 1755)
Wristwatches
The watch was first worn on the wrist in the early years Of the 20th century. Early wristwatches were in the form of small pocket watches that had been converted to wristwatches either by the addition of wire strap lugs Soldered on to the case or by the use of a leather pocket, designed to hold the watch and fix onto the wrist with a strap. Such watches are easily identifiable as they are usualдн profusely chased and engraved on the reverse and the dial is not positioned in the usual wristwatch manner. These early wristwatch conversions are historically interesting but generally of low value. The first true wristwatch was produced by the Parisian
firm of Cartier c.1904 for the aviator
Alberto Santos Dumont; this design
became known as the “Santos” and is
still in production today. The Swiss firm
of Rolex, at the forefront of watch
production, began to manufacture
wristwatches as early as 1911. With the
Outbreak of World War I, wristwatches
were issued to servicemen, and many
interesting variations of these watches can
be found. The “Trench” watch is one of
these and is readily identifiable by its
pierced grille, intended to protect the glass
and dial. Until the 1920s watches were
generally of plain circular form with either
silvered or enamel dials, Swiss movements,
and either chrome, silver, or gold cases.
AFTER 1920
During the 1920s the range of wristwatch styles broadened to include rectangular, square, oval, and octagonal shapes. Most designs featured simple clean lines and bold numerals. During the 1930s case and dial designs became more abstract, numerals were more exaggerated and elongated, and two-colour cases and
bold Odeonesque features were introduced. Watches from the 1920s and 1930s are among the most sought after by collectors: a classic style coupled with a maker renowned for high standards such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, Jaeger le Coultre, Audemars Piguet, and Vacheron & Constantin would be especially desirable.
In the I 940s watch styles resembled jewellery, designs of the period with styles such as the “cocktail” watch being typical. After the outbreak of World War II standard wristwatches were issued to members of the armed forces. These watches can be identified by their robust steel construction and their characteristic black dials and luminous numerals. The British Government property mark in the form of an arrow on the back of the case can also help to confirm the identification of British watches. Since military wristwatches were made by most eminent makers, including Longines, I.W.C., and Omega, collectors are taking an increased interest in these watches.
From the late 1940s into the early 1950s wristwatch design captured the futuristic look that was popular at the time: hands and baton numerals were severely pointed and streamlined and lugs were typically in exaggerated teardrop shapes. The inclusion of such features as calendars, moonphases, and chronographs was also highly characteristic of the period.
The following decade, the 1960s, produced many abstract and interesting watch designs, which are instantly recognizable as products of their age. While these characteristically bright-coloured watches in new synthetic materials are currently of little interest to the serious watch collector, they are avidly sought after by followers of modern design. Most wristwatch collectors today seek the classic designs from the 1930x, 1940s, and 1950x. When assessing value, the style, maker, model, and complexity of a watch are vital considerations, as are condition and any replacement parts.
Wristwatches of recent manufacture are also sought after when made by one of the exclusive designers.
KEY FACTS
Before 1920
• DESIGNS these were usually of plain circular form with wire strap lugs and enamel dials; the “Trench” watch, distributed to soldiers in World War 1, featured a protective grille over the glass dial-cover
• DIALS these were often unsigned – check the movement for the maker’s signature
After 1920
• DESIGNS unusual case shapes were typical; most military wristwatches from World War II are slightly larger than average, with black dials
• COLLECTING calendars, chronographs, moonphases,
and repeating features can add value; automatic
wristwatches are more sought after than manual-wind watches; British military watches are usually inscribed on the reverse with a Government issue arrow
Collectable makers
Patek Philippe, Rolex, Cartier, Vacheron &_ Constantin, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger Ie Coultre