A GEORGE III TWO-DAY MARINE CHRONOMETER IN OCTAGONAL MAHOGANY BOX

JOHN ARNOLD & SON, NO. 18, CIRCA 1791

Details

A GEORGE III TWO-DAY MARINE CHRONOMETER IN OCTAGONAL MAHOGANY BOX
John Arnold & Son, No. 18, circa 1791
The silvered dial signed JOHN ARNOLD & SON LONDON No. 18, the hours chapter with Roman numerals within outer minutes chapter with Arabic five minute intermarkers 60-5-10-15 et seque, large subsidiary seconds dial intercepting hour and minute numerals (at VI), blued steel hands, Arnold escapement, recessed pillar screws, the top plate signed John Arnold & Son, London, No. 18/108 Invt et Fect. jewelled to the centre, and some with endstones, the pillar plate jewelled to the centre, the escape wheel jewel with endstone, the fusee with screwed in brass settings, cut bimetallic Arnold Z balance with brass cross-arm, the bimetallic sectors with tapped outer end carrying threaded heat compensation weights, undersprung gold helical balance spring having six coils the bottom coil secured to top-plate via an adjustable stud, replaced Arnold spring foot detent, the movement set in mahogany octagonal seating board (possibly replacement), the whole contained in octagonal mahogany box with inset glazed brass bezel
112 mm. dial diam., box 175 mm. max. width, 104 mm. high

Literature

Vaudrey Mercer, John Arnold & Son, A.H.S., London, 1972, pp. 82

Lot Essay

The inside of the fusee great wheel has scratched therein Thos Prest. March 1791. Thomas Prest was Arnolds' foreman having joined the firm in 1784.
The back of the dial has the number 18 scratched thereon. The two numerals are quite large and their curved areas have been filled in with parallel line shading. There is also a name scratched close to this number which could be read as Hin d. Vaudrey Mercer, op. cit., records a John Hind who in 1793 made a chronometer on the design of Arnold the fusee of which is inscribed Thos. Prest 1793. See also page 218 for specific reference to Arnold No. 18.
An unusual feature is that the fusee square is fitted with a brass sliding dust cover which makes a seal between it and the brass winding hole assembly which is set in the bottom of the box.

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