BARRAUD & LUND, Cornhill, London. No 2/8941
Beautiful gold watch with very rare form of ‘dovetail’ lever escapement by this important London firm.
£3,995.00
Nicely detailed plain and heavy gold case with unusual loose-ring pendant, hallmarked 1864, case maker WR (probably William Rowlands, Clerkenwell). Fullplate fusee movement with brass index and stud. Detached lever escapement with large dovetail-shaped jewel and distinctive lever fork, the lever being solid gold, as usually fitted with this escapement. Compensation balance, spiral balance-spring. Stylish signed and numbered enamel dial, blued-steel ‘open heart’ hands. 53 mm diameter and weighing just over 150 grams gross, the weight of case (around 80 grams) meaning it sadly scraps at over £3500 due to the present high price of gold.
Paul Philip Barraud and John Richard Lund, one of the leading London watch and chronometer manufacturers throughout the 19th century – see the book by Cedric Jagger Paul Phillip Barraud and the Supplement for extensive details of this important London firm, but the author mis-identifies those watches with this escapement.
The earliest use of this escapement by Barraud known to me is in their watch No 9346 of 1817. The firm continued to use it in their best lever watches for around fifty years, but rarely, and examples are almost never seen. The British Museum has Barraud movement No 9707 in their collection, sadly also mis-identified, it being described as a “false Savage-two-pin!” The action of this escapement is as in a normal single-roller, not a Savage 2-pin. It is the geometry of the fork and jewel that is novel.
NB: The ‘dovetail’ escapement is one of the least known and least recorded detached lever escapements, although it first appears soon after Edward Massey patents his lever escapement with its various forms of roller: 1812-14. The ‘dovetail’, Savage 2-pin, single-roller and other variants were almost certainly designed to avoid infringing Massey’s patent, but just which escapement maker/s were responsible for this escapement is yet to be discovered. The finish and action of all the few examples handled by me is very good indeed, as it is in this movement.
With its compensation balance, lovely case and distinctive appearance it has been a favourite watch of mine for many years – a unique(?) dial, a rare escapement, a fine timekeeper and still entirely useable. Small local repair to the dial edge at I, otherwise showing almost no signs of use. Serviced, guaranteed, and supplied with a correctly fitting key.
Item reserved
Description
Nicely detailed plain and heavy gold case with unusual loose-ring pendant, hallmarked 1864, case maker WR (probably William Rowlands, Clerkenwell). Fullplate fusee movement with brass index and stud. Detached lever escapement with large dovetail-shaped jewel and distinctive lever fork, the lever being solid gold, as usually fitted with this escapement. Compensation balance, spiral balance-spring. Stylish signed and numbered enamel dial, blued-steel ‘open heart’ hands. 53 mm diameter and weighing just over 150 grams gross, the weight of case (around 80 grams) meaning it sadly scraps at over £3500 due to the present high price of gold.
Paul Philip Barraud and John Richard Lund, one of the leading London watch and chronometer manufacturers throughout the 19th century – see the book by Cedric Jagger Paul Phillip Barraud and the Supplement for extensive details of this important London firm, but the author mis-identifies those watches with this escapement.
The earliest use of this escapement by Barraud known to me is in their watch No 9346 of 1817. The firm continued to use it in their best lever watches for around fifty years, but rarely, and examples are almost never seen. The British Museum has Barraud movement No 9707 in their collection, sadly also mis-identified, it being described as a “false Savage-two-pin!” The action of this escapement is as in a normal single-roller, not a Savage 2-pin. It is the geometry of the fork and jewel that is novel.
NB: The ‘dovetail’ escapement is one of the least known and least recorded detached lever escapements, although it first appears soon after Edward Massey patents his lever escapement with its various forms of roller: 1812-14. The ‘dovetail’, Savage 2-pin, single-roller and other variants were almost certainly designed to avoid infringing Massey’s patent, but just which escapement maker/s were responsible for this escapement is yet to be discovered. The finish and action of all the few examples handled by me is very good indeed, as it is in this movement.
With its compensation balance, lovely case and distinctive appearance it has been a favourite watch of mine for many years – a unique(?) dial, a rare escapement, a fine timekeeper and still entirely useable. Small local repair to the dial edge at I, otherwise showing almost no signs of use. Serviced, guaranteed, and supplied with a correctly fitting key.