Rare Silver Pair-Cased Pocket Watch by Thomas Gorsuch, Circa 1710
A rare silver pair-cased pocket watch, maker Thomas Gorsuch English circa 1710 1.89 in. diameter, 2.56 in. high, 2.28 in. case diameter. A rare silver pair-cased pocket watch, maker Thomas Gorsuch. English Circa 1710. Very deep silver pair-cased "pendulum" watch. Plain outer case and inner box, long round. pendant and stirrup bow. No apparent hallmarks, marks of some sort on the inside of the box. are indecipherable. White enamel dial (some damage at No 6) with black Roman hour. numerals and outer Arabic minute numerals. Black steel beetle and poker hands. Engraved. narrow brass ring around dial. Domed glass fitted into a split bezel. fusee, verge escapement, Egyptian pillars. The table of the balance cock is solid but is cut. away on one half to expose a "mock" pendulum bob on the end of the arm of the balance. wheel. The remaining part of the table of the cock is engraved with a portrait of a woman, probably Queen Anne. The rest of the balance cock is nicely chased. There is an adjustment. regulator on the tops of the table of the cock while the regulator indicator is engraved under. the open balance cock. The table of the cock is winged and there is a cylindrical rim which. goes around the cock, enclosing it from the back plate to the table. The foot of the cock and. the side of the back plate opposite the signature are nicely chased in a foliate pattern. The. back plate bears the signature "Tho Gorsuch, Salop, 282". Reference: Queen Anne reigned from 1702 until 1714. Numerous watches were made during this period having both a portrait of Queen Anne and a visible pendulum bob, including one by. Marwick. It is likely that this watch was made during Queen Anne's reign, and so is. probably not later than 1713. A mock pendulum by David Lesturgeon, is illustrated at page. 144 of Britten (9th edition) plate 91, showing the false pendulum bob and a portrait of Queen. Anne; the watch is dated circa 1705. Britton lists "Thomas Gorsuch, 1720; Salop watch (bri)". Baillie lists him as "A fine maker. 1728', but from Shrewsbury. Salop later became known as Shropshire, the county in which '. Shrewsbury is found. Provenance: Purchased from Wellings, Wynnum. February 1971 for $225. Dimensions: 1.89 in. diameter, 2.56 in. high, 2.28 in. case diameter
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- Pendulum - The pendulum was discovered around 1602 by Galileo Galilei, and was adopted for time keeping by the Dutch mathematician and natural philosopher, Christiaan Huygens, who excelled in astronomy, physics, and horology.
The pendulum comprises a metal rod usually of brass or steel with a metal disk, known as a bob, at the end. The movement of the pendulum is driven by weights or a spring, and as a pendulum swings in a regular arc, it was found accuracy could be controlled to within a few seconds a week.
Timekeeping can be adjusted by changing the height of the bob on the rod, making the pendulum either swing slower or faster.
The disadvantage of the pendulum was that changes in temperature also changed the length of the pendulum, interfering with the accuracy of the clock, and so in the 18th century two types of mercurial pendulums were invented which countered the movement in the steel rod.
The pendulum was the world's most accurate timekeeping technology until the invention of the quartz clock, regulated by a quartz crystal, in 1927. - 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.
- Pair Cased - A pair cased watch is one with a double case. The movement is encased, and for additional protection this is fitted into an outer case.
- 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.
- 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. - 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.
- Foliate - Decorated with leaves or leaf-like forms.
- 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.
This item has been included into following indexes:
- pocket watches, case type
- pocket watches, period - Georgian 289
- watches - pendant 106
