Christopher Maynard, London

• Movement: gilded full plate, verge escapement, decoratively pierced and florally engraved screwed-on balance cock, flat balance with spring, barrow regulator, fusee and chain, tulip pillars • signed Christo Maynard, London
• Dial: silver champlevé, Roman numerals with half hour divisions between, inner ring with quarter hour divisions, central rosette motif, outer gilded ring, single blued steel beetle hand 
• Cases: plain silver inner case, case back with aperture for winding, later stirrup pendant and bow, case maker's mark possibly CH • later plain silver outer case

Terence Camerer Cuss, The English Watch 1585-1970, 2009, p. 114, pl. 51

Movement running at the time of cataloguing. Inner case with scuffs and scratches throughout, denting to the band, pendant and bow later, the bezel is not split for glass retention and has either been restored or repaired. Outer case later with scuffs and scratches, discolouration and some solder missing to the band and around the hinge, thumb piece is a replacement and its catch has been replaced, there are some small holes from the original catch spring. Later hand, Dial in very worn condition, much of the original detail between the numerals lost, the central disk appears to be a replacement and is separate from the inner and outer rings. Dial feet are smaller than their accommodating holes to the top-plate. One of the dial feet is showing to the dial between the numerals at 5 and 6 o'clock, depression from another dial foot at 2 o'clock.
"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."

Despite the fact that this watch has a balance spring, the dial still retains only one hand. This allowed the owner the benefit of dramatically improved timekeeping, without the confusion that an extra hand may have entailed to one used to the traditional ways of reading time.

An early form of regulation for balance spring watches, the Barrow regulator consists of two curb pins held upright in a slide, these embrace the end section of the balance spring which is straight, not coiled. The length of the spring is altered by moving the slide along a worm (endless screw) which has a squared end to take a key. An index engraved on the movement plate beside the worm indicates the amount the slide may be moved, as the effective length of the spring is altered for regulation. It was F.J. Britten who first coined the term ‘Barrow’ regulator, naming it after Nathaniel Barrow. However, there does not appear to be any evidence to prove this, indeed, the late Cecil Clutton noted that this form of regulation may have originated in Rouen [see: Clutton, Why Barrow? Antiquarian Horology, Vol. 11, No. 5, Autumn 1979, pp. 480-482.] Only a small number of English watches survive with the Barrow form of regulation and it would appear that none date much beyond the first few years of the 1680s. Those that do survive are signed by a number of different makers which suggests that it may have been quite widely taken up before being superseded by the rack and wheel method attributed to Thomas Tompion.

Christopher Maynard (c. 1646-c.1698) was apprenticed in May 1660 to Simon Hackett. He was freed in 1667 and made an Assistant in the Clockmakers’ Company in 1682 (see Brian Loomes, The Early Clockmakers of Great Britain, p. 385.)