Rare Wandering Hour Pocket Watch by Abraham Fromanteel, Circa 1700

A rare wandering hour pocket watch, no. 225, maker Abraham…
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A rare wandering hour pocket watch, no. 225, maker Abraham Fromanteel English circa 1700 4.3 cm dial diameter, 6 cm high, 5.5 cm case diameter. A rare wandering hour pocket watch, no. 225, maker Abraham Fromanteel. English circa 1700. Outer case covered with skin decorated with silver rosette pinwork. The silver dial shows the current hour in Roman figures within a circular aperture which travels across the upper part of the dial within a blued steel semicircle indicating the minutes above and the quarters below. "As it disappears below the horizon" the next hour appears. The scene depicted in the lower part of the dial shows Cronos drawing Apollo's Chariot across the sky. The balance cock has a semi-circular segment cut away to reveal a mock pendulum, a fashion which was more common for clocks, but does not in any way do anything to enhance the going of the watch. Note that by this stage the cock foot has become very broad and the table round, has a decorated rim and wings and the semi-circular foot has extended to follow the circumference of the backplate. Provenance: A fine and rare pocket watch by a member of a famous family of makers. Abraham was the third son of and apprenticed to his father, Ahasuerus Fromanteel, who produced the first Pendulum Clock in London. Abraham Fromanteel was born in 1646, apprenticed to his father in 1662 and was elected to the freedom of the Clockmakers Company in 1680. Dimensions: 4.3 cm dial diameter, 6 cm high, 5.5 cm case diameter

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  • Apollo - Apollo is the Greek and Roman god of the sun, and patron of music and poetry. He is often depicted with a lyre.
  • Pendulum - The pendulum was discovered around 1602 by Galileo Galilei, and was adopted for time keeping by the Dutch mathematician and natural philosopher, Christiaan Huygens, who excelled in astronomy, physics, and horology.

    The pendulum comprises a metal rod usually of brass or steel with a metal disk, known as a bob, at the end. The movement of the pendulum is driven by weights or a spring, and as a pendulum swings in a regular arc, it was found accuracy could be controlled to within a few seconds a week.

    Timekeeping can be adjusted by changing the height of the bob on the rod, making the pendulum either swing slower or faster.

    The disadvantage of the pendulum was that changes in temperature also changed the length of the pendulum, interfering with the accuracy of the clock, and so in the 18th century two types of mercurial pendulums were invented which countered the movement in the steel rod.

    The pendulum was the world's most accurate timekeeping technology until the invention of the quartz clock, regulated by a quartz crystal, in 1927.
  • 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.
  • Rosette - A stylised circular-shaped disk with turned or carved decoration decoration applied to a surface, or carved into the surface, especially used in ceramics, jewellery, furniture, sculpture and textiles. Also known as a boss or a paterae or patera.
  • Date Aperture - A date aperture is a cut out section in the face of a watch or clock, displaying the day of the month.
  • Back Plate - On many types of clocks, the movement operates between two plates, usually made of brass, one at the back, and the other at the front, which forms a mount for the dial.

    On English bracket, mantle and table clocks the backplate was often visible through a glass door or panel from the late 17th century, and could be profusely engraved with scrolling decorations, flowers, foliage, birds, and figures. The engraving could also include the maker?s name.

    The amount of engraving reduced and became simpler as the 18th century progressed, and by 1800, had been reduced to a border, often with the maker's name in the centre. By the early 1800s all decoration had ceased, and only the maker's name was added, and by the Victorian era, most bracket, mantle and table clocks had no engraving.

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