John Grant, London

• Movement: gilded full plate movement, fine lever escapement with jewelled pallets, fork with jewelled horns acting on separate rollers, ratchet tooth escape wheel, jewelled up to and including the fusee, decoratively engraved balance cock, diamond endstone, three-armed bi-metallic compensation balance with interior adjustable gold weights,
two opposing blued steel spiral balance springs, fusee with Harrison’s maintaining power, turned pillars • movement signed Grant, Fleet Street, London, No. 1408
• Dial: white enamel regulator type dial, subsidiary hour dial with Roman numerals, outer Arabic minute ring, subsidiary seconds, gold beetle and poker hands • dial signed Grant, London
• Case: heavy plain polished yellow gold consular case with London hallmarks for 1788 and case maker’s mark RP for Richard Palmer

Dr. John Ridout, qualified 1779, died Sherborne 1823
Rev. G. Ridout, Newlands, Gloucestershire, (d. 1871)
George Ridout, (1820-1908) Rector of Sandhurst, Kent
Lionel Ridout, (b. 1888) Engineer, Hillindon
Sotheby’s London, 31st October 1966, Lot 115
Sotheby’s New York, Masterpieces from the Time Museum,
Part IV, Vol. II, 13th & 14th October 2004, lot 624

Terence Camerer Cuss, The English Watch 1585-1970, p. 296, pl. 182, 2009
Anthony Randall The Time Museum Catalogue of Chronometers, 1992, pp. 183-184, fig. 112
T.P. & T.A Camerer Cuss , The Camerer Cuss Book of Antique Watches 1987, p. 144, pl. 80
T.P. Camerer Cuss, The Country Life Book of Watches, 1967, p. 80, pl. 99

Movement running at time of cataloguing and appears to be in good condition. Dial with small chip to edge of dial between 55 and 60, very small chip at the very edge between 5 and 10 minutes past - otherwise dial appears in good condition. Case with light scuffs.
"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."

John Grant was apprenticed to his uncle, the eminent watch maker Alexander Cumming, and became a Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1781. In 1810, Grant became Junior Warden and died in office. Grant remains best known for his experimentation with the lever escapement. A number of English makers, including Grant, worked on the improvement of the lever movement after its invention by Thomas Mudge. He was succeeded by his son, also called John, who was Master of the Clockmakers’ Company five times between 1838 and 1867. John Grant is famous for his experimentation with the lever escapement. Today, only eight watches by Grant are known to survive with early lever escapements and, of these, the present watch is the earliest and most important. The watch has an impeccable provenance, its first owner being Dr John Ridout (who qualified in 1779) worked at Blackfriars and died in Sherborne in 1823. The watch was sold by Ridout’s descendants at Sotheby’s London on 31st October, 1966. The extremely fine movement is one of the first to be jewelled
up to and including the fusee, and the movement’s fork and roller action is similar to Mudge’s in the “Queen’s Watch”. There is some conjecture as to why Grant counter-sprung this watch (with one spiral spring above the balance and the other beneath) rather than using a helical spring as Emery and others were doing. It has been suggested that Grant used this method in order to keep his watches slim but it may simply be due to the difficulty of achieving the best configuration for the
helical spring.

John Grant was apprenticed to his uncle, the eminent watch maker Alexander Cumming, and became a Freeman of the Clockmakers’ Company in 1781. In 1810, Grant became Junior Warden and died in office. Grant remains best known for his experimentation with the lever escapement. A number of English makers, including Grant, worked on the improvement of the lever movement after its invention by Thomas Mudge. He was succeeded by his son, also called John, who was Master of the Clockmakers’ Company five times between 1838 and 1867.