Lot 27
  • 27

Andrew Dickie, London

Estimate
50,000 - 70,000 GBP
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Description

  • AN EXCEPTIONAL DOUBLE DIALLED CYLINDER WATCH WITH DAY INDICATION AND RADIAL ANNULAR CALENDAR IN LATER GOLD CASECIRCA 1760, NO. 2292
  • gold, gilt metal
  • diameter 52 mm
Movement: with cylinder escapement, blued steel cock, flat diamond endstone, fusee and chain, cylindrical pillars, movement signed and numbered
Dials: the front dial white enamel, Roman numerals, Arabic outer minute ring, inner ring for days of the week with short blued steel hand, aperture for regulation beneath 12 o’clock, winding aperture at 4 o’clock, blued steel beetle and poker hands, the back dial with radial annual calendar arranged in five-turn spiral, central dial with blue enamel centre carrying beneath it a calendar hand which expands and contracts as it indicates the days of the year, equation of time settings for 10th and 25th of the month, annual calendar dial signed Dickie
Case: later but stylistically complimentary gold case engraved with floral scrolls

Literature

Terence Camerer Cuss, The English Watch 1585-1970, 2009, pp. 212-213, pl. 122

Condition

Movement running at time of cataloguing. Time dial with some small cracks beneath the regulating square otherwise in good clean condition. Annular calendar dial with a few small hairline cracks to the outer dial but these are difficult to see with the naked eye and the overall appearance is very attractive, central dial appears to have very minor chipping to its outermost edge. Later case in good crisp condition.
"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."

Catalogue Note

This extraordinary double dialled watch is signed by Andrew Dickie. Dickie was one of the five professional watchmakers on a committee of 11 appointed by an Act of Parliament to examine John Harrison’s H4 timepiece. The Act took effect on 31st March 1763. The other watchmakers on the committee were Alexander Cumming, Thomas Mudge, William Frodsham and James Green.

To its front, the watch displays conventional hours and minutes with the days of the week indicated in the centre.  Such is the complexity of the movement and access to the escapement, the regulator is linked, remarkably, via a drive through the barrel arbor to a square and sector at 12 o’clock.

The back dial indicates the date throughout the year. A hand is set beneath the central enamel roundel and contracts as it follows the date spiral clockwise from January to December.  For clarity’s sake, every five days throughout the month are indicated with a series of dots, one dot for the 5th day, two dots for the 10th day and so on. The black squares indicate the last day of each month. On 31st December, a stud fixed to the underside of the spring-loaded outer part of the hand is raised and automatically relocates to the outer end, which instantaneously expands the hand to indicate 1st January on the dial. The central raised enamel disc can be used to set the date and is calibrated with the equation of time settings for the 10th and 25th day of each month – the difference between the varying lengths of the solar day as recorded by a sundial and the meantime day as measured by a watch. The minutes difference between mean and solar time for the 10th and 25th of each month are shown directly above each month on the central disc. Below the months are the signs of the Zodiac.

Sophisticated in construction, the movement’s calendar mechanism is extremely fine and consists of approximately 20 parts. To save space, the diamond endstone is flat and
its fixing screws are to the underside. Another double dialled watch with radial annual calendar is in the British Museum and it has been suggested that that watch was made by Thomas Mudge. Although both the movement and dial of the present watch are signed by Dickie, it is tempting to see much of Mudge’s ingenuity in its construction. Indeed, a biography on Mudge published in Universal Magazine in July 1795 noted that,
for much of his life, Mudge had been quite content to work for other makers.