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Thomas Earnshaw Gold and Enamel Verge Watch

A Thomas Earnshaw gold and enamel pair case verge watch, gilt fullplate movement with fusee, engraved and pierced balance bridge cock. verge escapement. Smooth doric columns. The fullplate signed Thos Earnshaw London, with serial number 3210. The enamel dial with gold poker hands and Arabic numerals, signed Earnshaw London. The inner 18k gold case signed 'Tc' with hallmarks for London, 1802, with winding hole to rear. The outer case with enamel bezel and rear, the front decorated with flora, the polychrome rear depicting a nativity scene. Diameter: 1.89 in. Provenance: The collection of Dr Trevor Hyde, Sydney. Other Notes: Thomas Earnshaw (1749-1829) operated from 119 high Holborn. He was a famed maker of marine chronometers, with one of his used on hallmarked sterling Beagle during Charles Darwin's expedition. Another chronometer was used by Captain William Bligh on hallmarked sterling Providence.

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  • Polychrome - Made or finished in many colours. For furniture, it is used to indicated a painted finish.
  • Movement - The technical name for the workings of a clock or watch, and does not include the dial or case.
  • 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.
  • Bezel - On a clock or watch, the bezel is the metal frame into which the watch or clock glass is fitted. In clocks, the bezel may include a hinge and a flange, in effect a door to the face of the clock. In jewellery the bezel is a band of metal with a projecting lip that holds the gemstone in its setting.
  • 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.

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A Thomas Earnshaw gold and enamel pair case verge watch, gilt…