Gold Curtis verge escapement triple cased watch

• Embossed / Repousse - Embossing, also known as repousse, is the technique of decorating metal with raised designs, by pressing or beating out the design from the reverse side of the object.It is the opposite of chasing, where the decoration is applied from the front. An embossed or repoussed object may have chasing applied to finish off the design.
• Fusee - The fusee movement was used in clocks and pocket watches from the mid 17th century. The fusee is a cone shaped drum within the works that is linked to the barrel of the spring, usually by a length of chain.
  
  As the mainspring loses its tension over time, the cone shaped barrel compensates for this by increasing the tension, by pulling the mainspring tighter, thus ensuring the time remains constant.
  
  Use of the fusee in clocks was superseded by the "going barrel" in the mid 19th century and for pocket watches at the beginning of the 19th century.
  
  The fusee continued to be used in marine chronometers until the 1970s.
• Shagreen - Shagreen is the untanned smoothly pebbled textured skins of rays, sharks or dogfish. In finishing, it is dyed, mostly green, but the colour often fades to a cream colour. Shagreen was a popular material in Europe during the Art Deco era, when designers sought to mould the French tradition of luxury with exotic and precious materials. Most collectable items made from shagreen are smaller objects, like glasses cases, dagger and sword hilts, dressing accessories, boxes and picture frames.
• Bezel - On a clock or watch, the bezel is the metal frame into which the watch or clock glass is fitted. In clocks, the bezel may include a hinge and a flange, in effect a door to the face of the clock. In jewellery the bezel is a band of metal with a projecting lip that holds the gemstone in its setting.
• Chapter Ring - A separate metal plate on the face of a clock, on which the numerals for the hours and sometimes parts of the hours, are displayed, usually wheel shaped and sitting on top of the dial plate. The chapter ring is often a feature of the clock and can be silvered or enamelled to stand as a contrast to its background. The hours are usually shown in Roman numerals, although in the late 19th and earlt 20th century, Arabic numerals became fashionable.
• Circa - A Latin term meaning 'about', often used in the antique trade to give an approximate date for the piece, usually considered to be five years on either side of the circa year. Thus, circa 1900 means the piece was made about 1900, probably between 1895 and 1905. The expression is sometimes abbreviated to c.1900.
• Verge Escapement - A verge escapement is an early mechanical escapement used in clocks and other timekeeping devices. It is an early form of the escapement mechanism, which is used to regulate the movement of the hands of a clock or watch. The verge escapement consists of a vertical shaft called the verge, which is mounted on the clock's main plate. Attached to the verge are two pallets, which engage with the teeth of the escape wheel. As the escape wheel turns, the pallets alternately lock and release it, allowing the movement of the clock to be regulated. The verge escapement was widely used in early mechanical clocks, but it was eventually replaced by the more accurate and reliable anchor escapement.
• Pique Work - A decorative technique used on jewellery and small decorative objects in which designs are created by inlaying small gold or silver studs and stips into tortoiseshell. The art reached its highest point in 17th- and 18th-century France, particularly for the decoration of small tortoiseshell articles such as combs, patch boxes, and snuffboxes.
• Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• pocket watches, case type - open face, gold / gold-plated case 1,381
• pocket watches, period - Georgian 289
• shagreen items 122