Very large gold half quarter repeater cylinder

Stock No. 1847

Josiah Jessop
London, 1787
Gold pair cases, 64 mm
Cylinder escapement, half quarter repeat, centre seconds

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A fine and unusually large gold pair cased cylinder watch, with centre seconds, stop/start lever, half quarter repeating, and cylinder escapement. All in very good condition.

MOVEMENT : Gilded movement, with cylinder escapement, engraved and pierced balance cock showing an urn to the neck. Large diamond endstone. Four round pillars, large silver regulator disk and clean blued steel screws.

In addition to the balance wheel, the escape wheel is also jewelled (an early and quite rare example of jewelling).

Signed JESSOP, Southampton Str., Strand, London and numbered 2503. Protected by a removable gilt dustcap, signed and numbered as the movement.

A steel lever under the dial at 7 allows the movement to be stopped and restarted.
The half quarter repeating strikes the steel bell with two polished steel hammers.
The repeating function is activated by pushing down the stem. This strikes once for each hour, twice for each quarter, and once for the half quarter (7.5 minutes).
The movement is in exceptionally good condition, and is running well. The stop/start lever function and the repeat mechanism are working correctly.

DIAL : Wonderful signed white enamel dial, with eccentric dial and centre seconds.

In excellent condition.

Gold hands.

INNER CASE : 22ct gold, with London hallmarks for 1787, maker’s mark ?W.

Pierced with sound holes and engraved with a border of flowers around the band and a large rosette to the centre of the back.

In excellent, almost perfect condition, with just some rubbing to the gilding on the brass plunger stem.

The hinge is fine and the bezel snaps shut nicely. The high dome crystal is good.

OUTER CASE : A large heavy case, with hallmarks and maker’s mark matching the inner. Concealed hinge.

Again in excellent, almost perfect condition.

The gold cases have a combined weight of about 90 gms., excluding crystal and movement.

Josiah Jessop worked in London, where he is recorded between about 1780 and 1794, at 38 Southampton St., Covent Garden.
A centre seconds watch made by him was in the Ilbert collection, and is now in the British Museum.