Live Auction 1376Important Watches
Arnold. A very fine and rare 18K gold openface half quarter repeating pocket chronometer
Lot 315

Arnold. A very fine and rare 18K gold openface half quarter repeating pocket chronometer

SIGNED JOHN ARNOLD & SON, LONDON, INVT. ET FECIT, NO. 268, STAMPED WITH LONDON DATE LETTER FOR 1793

Closed15 November 2010

Price Realised

CHF 40,000

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Arnold. A very fine and rare 18K gold openface half quarter repeating pocket chronometer
Signed John Arnold & Son, London, Invt. et Fecit, No. 268, stamped with London date letter for 1793
Gilt-finished movement, chain fusée, Arnold spring detent escapement, two-arm Z-balance with compensation weights, finely pierced and engraved balance cock, steel helical spring with diamond endstone, free sprung regulator, half quarter repeating on two polished steel hammers onto the case, white enamel dial, Roman numerals, gilt spade hands, subsidiary seconds, plain case, repeating through the pendant, case numbered 268 and stamped with casemaker's initials TH for Thomas Hardy and London date letter for 268, dial and movement signed Arnold and numbered 268
62 mm. diam.

Specialist note

With fitted wooden box and a key.

In How the chronometer went to sea, March 1976, p. 654, W.H. May reports the extraordinary circumstance of a naval chronometer, Arnold No. 268, being issued to Sir John Barrow, the Second Secretary to the Admiralty, for use on his private yacht "The Flow of Yarrow". It is unknown though whether it is the present pocket chronometer or a boxed chronometer of the same number.