10,350 CHF
1. Thuret, circa 1675. Fine and rare small tortoiseshell veneered hour and half hour striking early pendulum dock with a secret drawer on the base. Shaped, the front face with engraved brass inlaid foliage decoration, ebonised pear-wood moulded base with a secret back drawer, the bell on the top with bronze cast foliage applied decoration. Gilt brass chapter ring with Roman numerals and outer Arabic minute ring. Gilt brass dial plate, finely engraved with acanthus leaves, garlands of flowers and a rosette of foliage. Blued steel elaborate hands. Gilt brass shaped with turned pillars, going barrels on both the going and striking trains, verge escapement, very short pendulum with silk suspension. Striking on a bell with count wheel on the back plate. Signed below the dial. In good condition. Dim. 42 x 19 x 13 cm. Notes Isaac Thuret, Clock-maker to Louis XIV, was among the first French makers to produce pendulum docks. He claimed the invention of balance spring for watches, but denied it in a letter to Huygens in 1675, saying that the invention claimed was the use of a flat spring for pendulum support. He made watches with balance spring for Huygens and a dock for Leiden Observatory to Huygens.
Auctioneer:
Antiquorum
Date:
1995-04-22
