John McLennan, London

• Movement: gilded three-quarter plate movement, spring detent escapement, bi-metallic compensation balance, blued steel duo-in-uno spring, ruby endstone, signed and numbered John McLennan, London, no. 2164, the backplate further engraved Prize Medal International Exhibition awarded 1862, Great Skill and General Excellence
• Dial: white enamel, Roman numerals, outer minute ring, two subsidiary dials for up-and-down indication and subsidiary seconds with Arabic numerals
• Case: gold, engine-turned bezel and case back, plain gold polished cuvette with apertures for winding and hand-set, hallmarked London 1861 and with maker's mark RR in oval cartouche for Robert Rowlands, with a fine gold chain

With an associated John McLennan presentation box.

Christie's Geneva, 16th May 2011, lot 110

Antiquarian Horology, No. 2, Vol. 15, December 1984, p.174
Horological Journal, Vol. XXIX, January 1887, pp. 78-79
Anthony Randall, The Time Museum Catalogue of Chronometers, 1991, p. 310
Tony Mercer, Chronometer Makers of the World, Revised Edition 2004, p. 197

Movement fully wound and not running at time of cataloguing. Dial appears to be in good condition. The case in good condition, engine-turning remains very well defined and crisp. The John McLennan has a fitted interior which is too large for this watch and is therefore associated.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. All dimensions in catalogue descriptions are approximate. Condition reports may not specify mechanical replacements or imperfections to the movement, case, dial, pendulum, separate base(s) or dome. Watches in water-resistant cases have been opened to examine movements but no warranties are made that the watches are currently water-resistant. Please note that we do not guarantee the authenticity of any individual component parts, such as wheels, hands, crowns, crystals, screws, bracelets and leather bands, since subsequent repairs and restoration work may have resulted in the replacement of original parts. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue. In particular, please note it is the purchaser's responsibility to comply with any applicable import and export matters, particularly in relation to lots incorporating materials from endangered species.NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

**Please be advised that bands made of materials derived from endangered or otherwise protected species (i.e. alligator and crocodile) are not sold with the watches and are for display purposes only. We reserve the right to remove these bands prior to shipping."

An astonishingly small pocket chronometer, this is believed to be the smallest English pocket chronometer with a spring detent escapement and up-and-down power reserve indication ever made. A slightly smaller pocket chronometer, but without up-and-down, measuring 25.7mm was formerly in the collection of the Time Museum and sold at Sotheby’s New York, 13^th October 2004, lot 660. The latter watch was made by Alexander Watkins and exhibited at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace in 1851. Anthony Randall, in his book The Time Museum Catalogue of Chromometers, notes "the difficulties of making such a [small] watch were, at the time, really formidable, and the detent escapement must be about at the practical limit for reduction in size."

John Osbourne McLennan (1814-1886) was born in Dingwall, north of Inverness, Scotland. A highly accomplished maker, he worked for James McCabe junior and Charles Frodsham. He is reputed to have invented the duo-in-uno balance spring which was challenged by A.P. Walsh, however, as Tony Mercer notes in his book Chronometer Markers of the World, "W. B. Crisp suggests that A.P. Walsh saw them at an exhibition of 1862 went home and copied them, then immediately had them displayed in his own showcase" [see op. cit. Revised Edition, 2004, p. 197]. The 1862 International Exhibition mentioned on the present watch's movement was held in South Kensington, London, on a site that now houses the Natural History and Science museums. Given the hallmark date and extreme rarity of this watch, it would seem certain that this is the same chronometer shown at the exhibition by McLennan and which A.P. Walsh must have seen. Following the exhibition, McLennan would have arranged to retrospectively engrave the backplate of his movement to commemorate his achievement.

In a letter to Antiquarian Horology (December 1984), it was stated that McLennan's miniature chronometer watch, made for the 1862 Exhibition, was sold to Alexander Baird of Urie Castle for 265 Guineas in 1862 [see Antiquarian Horology, No. 2, Vol. 15, December 1984, p.174]. At the time of its auction at Christie’s in 2011, it was noted that this watch had remained in one family for three generations.

The Horological Journal of January 1887 (pp. 78-79) gave a short obituary of John McLennan as follows: "To complete the horological obituary for 1886 must be recorded the death of probably the best all-round watchmaker of our times, Mr. John McLennan, who, at the age of 72, succumbed to a complication of internal disorders at the end of November, was engaged for many years on the finest class of work for McCabe, Charles Frodsham and other famous houses. He exhibited in the 1862 Exhibition, as the production of his own hands throughout, certainly the smallest pocket chronometer ever made, the movement being the size of a shilling; the balance spring was a duo in uno - a form in which the bottom of the spring is a volute, rising from the outer end of which is a helix. Mr. McLennan claimed to be the inventor of the duo in uno, but the originality of this conception was challenged, we believe, by both Mr. Walsh and Mr. Hammersley. However, the style of Mr. McLennan's work, the clean handling and the superb finish, but induced a spirit of emulation that did much to advance the character of English watchmaking."