Antique Gold Pair-Cased Repousse Pocket Watch by John Davison

A gold pair-cased repousse pocket watch, maker John Davison…
click the photo to enlarge
A gold pair-cased repousse pocket watch, maker John Davison English circa 1782 4 cm diameter, 4.7 cm high, 4.8 cm case diameter. A gold pair-cased repousse pocket watch, maker John Davison. English Circa 1782. Gold pair-cased watch with repousse outer case. Plain box, ornate swivelling pendant. White. enamel dial, inner chapter ring with Roman hour numerals, outer minute ring with Arabic. numerals. Blued steel beetle and poker hands, bulls-eye glass. fusee drive, escapement converted to lever with solid, plain balance cock. Finely made squared pillars and decorative fusee stop. Key operated silver adjustment disc on backplate. Signed 'Jno Davison, London, 2757' on backplate. The repousse scene depicts a warrior in a plumed helmet being offered a goblet by a seated. woman with another woman standing behind her with her hand to her face. Provenance: Purchased from St. John Reid of Little Collins Street, Melbourne for $500.00 in about 1968. St. John said the fact that the escapement had been converted did not detract a lot from the. value of the watch because it has been done well and at an early date, to improve the accuracy. of time keeping. Dimensions: 4 cm diameter, 4.7 cm high, 4.8 cm case diameter

You must be a subscriber, and be logged in to view price and dealer details.

Subscribe Now to view actual auction price for this item

When you subscribe, you have the option of setting the currency in which to display prices to $Au, $US, $NZ or Stg.

This item has been sold, and the description, image and price are for reference purposes only.
  • 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    Use of the fusee in clocks was superseded by the "going barrel" in the mid 19th century and for pocket watches at the beginning of the 19th century.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.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Date Aperture - A date aperture is a cut out section in the face of a watch or clock, displaying the day of the month.
  • 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.
  • 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.

This item has been included into following indexes: