1800 French Gold Repeating Pocket Watch by Frederic Japy

A gold repeating pocket watch, maker Frederic Japy French circa…
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A gold repeating pocket watch, maker Frederic Japy French circa 1800 5.4 cm diameter, 6.5 cm high. A gold repeating pocket watch, maker Frederic Japy. French circa 1800. Gold gents open face quarter repeating watch. Gold case, gilt metal inner back cover inscribed. "T. SEITZ in HAAG". engine turned back, milled edge. Long round pendant, round gold bow. White enamel dial, black Arabic hour numerals, blued steel hands numerals and hands all in. Breguet style. Winding through the dial. fusee drive, verge escapement. Quarter repeat on two gongs, operated by lifting the knob on. the top of the pendant, giving it a quarter turn and depressing it. Unconventional engraved. backplate covering whole of movement, finely pierced bridge balance cock, rim of one of three. sides of balance cock cut away to expose the balance wheel. Silver regulator dial. Steel coqueret as end bearing for balance staff. Reference: The name "Japy" is stamped onto the plate under the dial. Frederic Japy is listed in Baillie. working at Beaucourt in France near the Swiss border. He was born in 1749 and died in. 1813.Clutton and Daniel in their book "Watches" say he effectively founded the modem. methods of mass-produced watch manufacture. He manufactured ebauches by machine tools. as early as 1776. This watch is typical oflate 18th century French verge watches: see plate 358-9 of Clutton and. Daniels "Watches" for a very similar looking watch. Provenance: Purchased from Steiner, Sydney, in August 1971. Dimensions: 5.4 cm diameter, 6.5 cm high

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  • 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.
  • Engine Turned - Engine turning is a decorative technique used on metal surfaces to create intricate curving or geometric pattern. The process involves cutting a series of lines into the surface of the metal using a rose engine or decoration lathe which rotates the metal as it cuts, allowing the operator to create a repeating pattern that covers the entire surface. The resulting surface has a shimmering, reflective quality that is often described as "engine turned." Where an engine turned item has been enamelled, the term used to describe the decoration is usually guilloche.

    Engine turning was originally developed to decorate metal objects such as firearms, scientific instruments, and other metal objects that required precise and elegant 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.
  • 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.
  • 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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