John TAYLOR ‘Sole Maker’ 36 Drake St, Rochdale. No 38919
Rare Williams Patent fast beating timer.
£695.00
Large and heavy silver ‘crystal’ case hallmarked London 1912 with stop lever in the band, casemaker W.B (William Bullock, Coventry), the inside of the rear cover scratch signed ‘W L Ingledew, Middlesborough, 1921.’ Three-quarter plate keyless going-barrel movement, but with hand setting via a key through the dome. Single-roller detached lever escapement, small steel balance with spiral balance-spring. Signed enamel dial with both offset and centre-seconds hands, the latter calibrated for two seconds in a complete revolution and divided into 1/16ths, blued-steel hands. 59 mm diameter
Williams Williams Patent No 4762, March 1890: Improvements in Stop Watches. For a similar examples see Alan Shenton Pocket Watches 19th & 20th Century page 334, and my past Postal Auction catalogues. Often now described as timers for whippet racing, the patent itself makes no specific mention for their use. Rochdale was, however, at the centre of the cotton mill industry at this time, which is likely to be of more significance regarding their intended use.
NB: Though usually called chronographs, these watches are not true chronographs and stop entirely when operated, thus will need to be reset to the correct time after use. True chronographs have an indicating hand/s that can start and stop independently of the watch train, as invented by Daniel Delander around 1725, with Nicole & Capt adding a true return-to-zero mechanism around 1862, though the heart shaped cam it uses had been part of their 1844 Patent. Sadly, most of the modern writers on this subject seem to be propagating the usual Swiss propaganda, much to the detriment of correct history.
Scratches around key setting square, hair cracks in dial and general signs of use, so priced accordingly. Serviced, guaranteed and quite mesmerising when running.
Item available
Description
Large and heavy silver ‘crystal’ case hallmarked London 1912 with stop lever in the band, casemaker W.B (William Bullock, Coventry), the inside of the rear cover scratch signed ‘W L Ingledew, Middlesborough, 1921.’ Three-quarter plate keyless going-barrel movement, but with hand setting via a key through the dome. Single-roller detached lever escapement, small steel balance with spiral balance-spring. Signed enamel dial with both offset and centre-seconds hands, the latter calibrated for two seconds in a complete revolution and divided into 1/16ths, blued-steel hands. 59 mm diameter
Williams Williams Patent No 4762, March 1890: Improvements in Stop Watches. For a similar examples see Alan Shenton Pocket Watches 19th & 20th Century page 334, and my past Postal Auction catalogues. Often now described as timers for whippet racing, the patent itself makes no specific mention for their use. Rochdale was, however, at the centre of the cotton mill industry at this time, which is likely to be of more significance regarding their intended use.
NB: Though usually called chronographs, these watches are not true chronographs and stop entirely when operated, thus will need to be reset to the correct time after use. True chronographs have an indicating hand/s that can start and stop independently of the watch train, as invented by Daniel Delander around 1725, with Nicole & Capt adding a true return-to-zero mechanism around 1862, though the heart shaped cam it uses had been part of their 1844 Patent. Sadly, most of the modern writers on this subject seem to be propagating the usual Swiss propaganda, much to the detriment of correct history.
Scratches around key setting square, hair cracks in dial and general signs of use, so priced accordingly. Serviced, guaranteed and quite mesmerising when running.