A Bona Fide Time Machine - Let's Go Back 300 years

[peter-paul]

So, I do seem to accumulate the strangest things - sometimes some very neat things. This is "Verge Fusee" pocket watch, with a silver champleve dial, chain driven, key wound. It dates to about 1710, and was made by a watch maker from the Island of Lewis, named John Feron (alternate spelling Ferron). John Feron graduated from his apprenticeship in 1692, in London. And later moved his watchmaking trade to Lewis, his native home.

This pocket watch employs a fusee spindel, its conical shape was an early attempt to account for the differential loss of spring power from the mainspring. It employs a Tompion balance spring, a fairly new innovation at that time.

This watch STILL runs. It keeps time to about 7 minutes per day. Being completely hand-made, it would have cost close to what a new car would cost us, in that time. The paper inside the outer case is from a page belonging to book on Greek gods. It has a servicing and regulating date of 1726.

Anyhow, I thought folks that appreciate fine craftsmanship (Smith and Wessons) would also appreciate this.

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[Rustyt1953]

The first word that popped into my head was: "stately".

 

[robrossk]

Talk about intricate detail - wow

 

[peter-paul]

The original chains were made from cat gut in the 1600s. By the beginning of the 1700s, they would employ orphans to make the chains, which replaced cat gut. They are miniature copies of a bicycle chain in mostly every way.

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[JohnRippert]

My favorite pocket watch is a Elgin but it is only about 100 years old.

 

[Kanewpadle]

Definitely a work of art. It would be interesting to know the ownership lineage.

 

[Toyman]

When quality workmanship was expected !

 

[peter-paul]

Definitely a work of art. It would be interesting to know the ownership lineage.

I have another one, I'll post that later. The owner had a custom porcelain face with his name. I found a record of his will. He died in the early 1800s, at an advanced age. The watch was made in 1778.

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[llowry61]

Wow, that is something. TY for sharing.

 

[DWalt]

I have an English shelf clock, ca. 1730 with a fusee. Most people today have no idea what a fusee is, but it made a huge difference in how well a clock kept time. The easiest way to describe it is that it's a tapered grooved spool which allows a much more constant spring force to be applied to the movement as the spring winds down. It can be seen in the picture above. Back in the days before John Harrison (18th Century British inventor of the marine chronometer) very few watches and clocks could do much better than gaining or losing 15 minutes per day, and most were far worse. Most have never heard of John Harrison, but he was a true scientific genius of his day. His invention of the chronometer which would work at sea allowed the British Empire to conquer most of the world, militarily and economically, as they could accurately navigate it for the first time.

 

[6518John]

The original chains were made from cat gut in the 1600s. By the beginning of the 1700s, they would employ orphans to make the chains, which replaced cat gut.

Didn’t the orphans miss their guts?

What if they had employed cats to make the chains from orphan guts?

Beautiful, magnificent watch. Thank you for posting!

 

[mod34]

Having just purchased my first pocket watch about a month ago - a 1921 Elgin GM Wheeler, I am in absolute awe of yours! Spectacular in how the maker was able to get intricate of detail 300 yrs ago!! Given that IT still runs after 300yrs, we should all slip over to the "refrigerator" thread elsewhere on the forum.......
Thank you for sharing!!!

 

[kmyers]

Beautiful piece, true craftsmanship.

 

[Sistema1927]

I have had 20th century mechanical watches that would have a hard time keeping 7 minutes per day. One of them is a PRC Air Force watch (original, not copy) that won't hold 10 per day.

That is pretty darned impressive for 1710. In my mind's eye I can see the original owner making an adjustment at local noon each day.

 

[rubiranch]

That's beautiful and amazing.
Thanks for sharing it with all of us.

 

[Onomea]

I have three American railroad watches, a coupla Hamiltons from the 1950s and an Illinois Sangamo Special from 1921.

Where does one come across a “verge fusee” from the early 18th century?

Extremely cool!

 

[Sistema1927]

I have three American railroad watches, a coupla Hamiltons from the 1950s and an Illinois Sangamo Special from 1921.

Where does one come across a “verge fusee” from the early 18th century?

Extremely cool!

You haven't searched for "verge fusee" on Fleabay?

 

[PALADIN85020]

THAT is an incredible artifact - and still working. Your photos portrayed the amazing workmanship beautifully. Thanks for posting. What a treat for the eyes!

Sadly, I have only one pocket watch, of unknown origin. I bought it in a small shop in the old mining town of Bisbee, Arizona where my maternal grandfather was a mine foreman. In this picture, you can see his watch chain - I bought the watch to go with it. The picture is of my paternal grandfather as a young man, and the book was a schoolbook when my father was a boy in Kentucky. The Colt Model 1903 Pocket Hammer in .38 ACP is of that era. I really like remnants of earlier ages!

John