c.1630 English Enamel and Rock Crystal Pendant Watch

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c.1630 English Enamel and Rock Crystal Pendant Watch

About the Item

Maker: John Stileman, Londini Case: The back and front in faceted rock crystal with gold bezels are decorated with translucent red, green and white enamel. The pendant and button finial are similarly enamelled. Dial: Engraved ormolu dial with Roman numerals for the hours and a single steel-cut hand. Movement: The movement has full gilt brass plates, turned vase pillars, fusee and gut-line for the going train, verge escapement, two-arm steel circular foliot, elongated pinned cock asymmetrically pierced with floral engraving. Signed on the movement ‘John Stileman, Londini’. Notes: From the Antiquorum lot description: There are relatively few surviving English watches that we can date to the first half of the seventeenth century. Of these, one sees only a handful in gold and enamel. Examining the inventories of property belonging to Queen Elizabeth I, one sees that she was in possession of a fair number of both small clocks and watches mounted in gold with enamel and even precious stones. England was not a major centre for either horology or enamelling at the time. The fact that so very few pieces have survivd may well be explained by the political circumstances. England was ravaged by civil war during the reign of Charles I. It is well known that he ‘cashed in’ many of the Crown’s possessions, particularly jewels and plate, to pay for campaigns. Following the defeat of the Royalists and the King execution, the puritan period under Cromwell virtually forbade wearing or even making such luxury objects. More examples were even likely to have been scrapped to provide funds for impoverished aristocrats.John Stileman is recorded as a Brother of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1640. However, the evidence points to this watch being made somewhat earlier. The style of the case, particularly the enamelling (close to German and French work from circa 1600) dates from the first quarter of the seventeenth century. The apparent inconsistency of the recorded date may be explained by the title ‘Brother’, as distinct from Freeman or Liveryman. It was the case that craftsman belonging to another Company (herehe most likely one would be the Goldsmith’s) could be made a Brother if their work brought them into an allied trade.. Ref: Published in the Sandberg book, pages 52-53. Sold at: Antiquorum, The Sandberg Watch Collection, 3/2001, lot 254. Size: Dim. 39 x 22 mm. Unless otherwise noted all our clocks are sold in working condition, fitted with the proper size keys, and guaranteed mechanically for 1 year. In this case we do not recommend running the watch daily. We also don't recommend a full wind. It is nearly four hundred years old. When the watch is wound a few turns it will tick. The movement was serviced and we guarantee everything is there that is needed for it to run, but again stress running it too much could cause unfortunate issues so our guarantee extends only to condition, not functioning.

Dimensions:
Height: 1.58 in (4 cm)Width: 0.83 in (2.1 cm)Depth: 0.79 in (2 cm)
Materials and Techniques:
Bronze,Enamel,Gold,Rock Crystal
Place of Origin:
England
Period:
Early 17th Century
Date of Manufacture:
circa 1630
Condition:
Repaired: might have slight repair to enamel work. Wear consistent with age and use.
Seller Location:
Greenlawn, NY
Reference Number:
Seller: e741stDibs: LU5877225675592