Photo Credit: coins-jewelry-collectibles
Georgian Silver Cased Fusee Pocket Watch From 1832
Buy It Now Price: $995 (price as of 2019; item no longer available)
Pros:
-This ornately decorated antique fusee pocket watch comes from 1832 Georgian England and is housed in a hallmarked, solid sterling silver case.
-This antique pocket watch measures 52 mm (2.05 inches) in diameter by 20 mm (0.79 inches) thick and weighs a robust 128.6 grams (4.13 troy ounces).
-A fusee pocket watch is an antique mechanical watch where a mainspring chain drives a conical cylinder known as a fusee. The conical fusee compensates for the fact that spring-driven chains gradually apply less force as they wind down, leading to reduced timekeeping accuracy.
-The case of this superb antique pocket watch was crafted by the silversmiths Timothy Ellison & Henry Fishwick, who operated on Tarleton Street in Liverpool between 1826 and 1837. It also bears hallmarks from the Chester Assay Office for 1832.
-The first fusee pocket watch was developed sometime in the early 16th century. They were gradually refined for the next couple hundred years until reaching their zenith in England and France during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Fusee pocket watches were slowly replaced by more reliable mechanical movements using lever escapements and balance springs over the course of the 19th century.
-This particular fusee pocket watch was made by Joseph Holden of Liverpool and is signed “Jos’h Holden Liverpool No. 1449”. It is probable that many of the parts in this watch were hand-finished.
-Fusee pocket watches were indispensable luxury items for the upper class during the 18th and early 19th centuries. And because they indicated social status, fusee watches were often lavishly decorated with gemstones, enamels, and precious metals.
-This pocket watch not only comes in an open-face, solid sterling silver case, but also has a sumptuously decorated silver dial adorned with applied gold roman numerals and an exquisite engine-turned scallop design.
-I love the richly-gilt, floral engraved interior of this piece. Opulent decoration in the interior of these types of watches was common because they had to be opened in order to wind the mechanism. And based on its date of manufacture, the gilding on this watch’s interior is undoubtedly fire gilding – the finest form of gilding known to man.
-This fusee pocket watch is one of those hidden treasures that I rarely come across. It is the sort of item you would expect to find in a museum, yet it could be sitting in your living room for less than $1,000! I feel that the only reason it is selling for so little is because fusee watches are (unjustly) considered a horological niche within the broader pocket watch collecting community.
Cons:
-Even though the seller claims that the watch is in good working order, it would still be advisable to have it serviced. I don’t know the going rate for servicing an early 19th century fusee pocket watch, but I bet it is substantially more expensive than servicing your average 1950s mechanical wristwatch. Finding a watch repair technician properly experienced with fusee pocket watches might also prove difficult.
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