John Wood Silver Pocket Watch, English Circa 1820

A silver pair-cased rack lever pocket watch, maker John Wood…
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A silver pair-cased rack lever pocket watch, maker John Wood English circa 1820 5 cm diameter, 6.7 cm high, 5.7 cm case diameter. A silver pair-cased rack lever pocket watch, maker John Wood. English Circa 1820. Silver pair-cased watch. The outer case and inner box plain, both bearing Chester hallmarks. for 1820-21 and case-maker's mark 'NL', probably Nicholas Lee, noted by Jackson as a watch-case maker. His first mention is in 1796 and his latest in 1817. White enamel dial, large black Roman numerals, subsidiary seconds dial. Gold hands, large. flat pendant, stirrup bow. fusee drive, rack lever escapement. Solid chased cock with a basket of flowers, the foot bearing the word 'patent'. Diamond end stone, three-arm steel balance. Plain circular pillars. Modest fusee stop. Signed on the backplate 'John Wood, No. 3316, Liverpool'. There is a lever protruding under the dial at 7 o'clock that enables the movement of the watch. to be stopped by bringing the lever to rest: a form of stopwatch. Brass dust cover. Reference: John Wood is listed in Britten as being in Liverpool from 1796 to 1824. A diagram of a rack-lever escapement is shown in figure 19 on page 151 of Brittens 'Old Clocks. and Watches and their Makers' (9th edition). The rack-lever, according to Clutton and Daniels, was invented by the Abbe de Hautefeuille in 1722. This contained the seeds of the lever. escapement, although it is not known whether Mudge was indebted to it for the idea of the. detached lever escapement, and it did not come into general use until after 1791, when a. considerably altered form of it was patented by the Liverpool maker Pe~er Litherland. The first. Lancashire (Liverpool is in Lancashire) lever watches were rack-levers, made in increasing. numbers during the early 19th century. The pioneer of this revival was Peter Litherland who. took out his first patent in 1791; but whether he was aware of the Abbe de Hautfeuille's form. of escapement is not known. Despite their non-detachment, the Lancashire rack-lever. performed surprisingly well when well made, which some of them were. All had flat steel. balances, and a very few had compensation curbs. The lever was laid out tangentially to the. escape wheel. Provenance: Purchased from Max Cohen, Dornoch Terrace, Highgate Hill, Brisbane in about 1970. Dimensions: 5 cm diameter, 6.7 cm high, 5.7 cm case diameter

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  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Lever Escapement - A lever escapement is a type of escapement mechanism used in mechanical clocks and watches to regulate the timekeeping of the movement. It was invented by British clockmaker Thomas Mudge in the 18th century and is now widely used in modern mechanical timepieces.

    The lever escapement consists of three main parts: the escape wheel, the pallet fork, and the lever. The escape wheel is a wheel with teeth that is driven by the clock or watch's main spring or weight. The pallet fork is a two-pronged component that is positioned so that it can engage with the teeth of the escape wheel, and the lever is a small, L-shaped component that is attached to the pallet fork.

    When the escape wheel turns, one of its teeth pushes against one of the pallet fork's prongs, causing the fork to pivot. As the pallet fork pivots, it releases the tooth and engages with the next tooth on the opposite side of the escape wheel. At the same time, the lever, which is connected to the pallet fork, rocks back and forth, allowing the escape wheel to turn at a regulated rate.

    The lever escapement is prized for its accuracy and reliability and is commonly used in high-end mechanical watches. It allows for precise timekeeping by ensuring that the movement of the watch or clock is regulated and consistent, and its compact size makes it an ideal choice for use in small, portable timepieces.
  • 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.
  • Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.

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