18th Century Gilt Metal Pocket Watch by Charles Cabrier

• Putto / Putti / Amorino / Amorini - A putto (plural: putti) or amerino (plural: amerini) is a cherub or cupid frequently appearing in both mythological and religious paintings and sculpture, especially of the Renaissance and Baroque periods and later used as a decorative element in the design of furniture, ceramics, statuary etc. They are usually depicted as chubby males, or of indeterminate gender, often with wings. Their depiction may represent an association with love, heaven, peace or prosperity.
• Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.
• 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.
• Pair Cased - A pair cased watch is one with a double case. The movement is encased, and for additional protection this is fitted into an outer case.
• Aphrodite / Venus - In Greek mythology, Aphrodite is the goddess of love, desire and beauty, whilst in Roman mythology she is called Venus.
• 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  Use of the fusee in clocks was superseded by the "going barrel" in the mid 19th century and for pocket watches at the beginning of the 19th century.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.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• pocket watches, period - Georgian 258