Property from an Erudite Collector
Nicole, Nielsen & Co.
Retailed by Munsey & Co. Ltd., Cambridge: A very fine and heavy 18ct gold hunting cased minute-repeating split-seconds chronograph watch with perpetual calendar and moon phases, Hallmarked 1912-1913
Auction Closed
December 6, 09:17 PM GMT
Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
Lot Details
Description
· Gilded three-quarter plate Nicole, Nielsen & Co. movement, lever escapement, highly jewelled, bi-metallic compensation balance, diamond endstone, blued steel hairspring with overcoil, satin finished steel chronograph work visible to the backplate, two polished steel hammers repeating on two coiled gongs, signed and numbered Munsey & Co. Ltd. Cambridge, No. 12565
· White enamel Willis dial signed Munsey & Co. Ltd, Cambridge, Roman numerals, four subsidiary dials for day, month within four-year leap year cycle combined with 60-minute register, date and subsidiary seconds combined with aperture for moon phases, black outer ring for minutes/chronograph seconds calibrated to fifths, blued steel spade hands, all subsidiaries with blued hands, gilded and blued steel split hands, dial signed Willis to the reverse
· Heavy polished 18ct gold case, stepped bezels, polished gold cuvette, sunken repeating slide and two large pushers for chronograph activation & split to band, olivette for hand-set with prominent shoulders, gold pendant and thief-proof bow, four pushers beneath bezel for adjusting day, date, month and moon phases, all covers, pendant and bow with 18ct gold hallmarks, London date letter ‘r’ for 1912-1913 to case back, all three covers with RN punch mark for Robert Benson North trading as Nicole, Nielsen & Co. pendant maker’s punch mark CH in rectangular cartouche with cut corners
No. 12565
Diameter 56mm
A wonderful, heavy hunting cased watch of very fine quality, this complex timepiece was made for Munsey & Co by Nicole, Nielsen and has a creamy white enamel dial that was supplied by the specialist dial makers T. J. Willis.
Nicole, Nielsen & Co.’s origins trace back to Adolphe Nicole’s partnership with Henry Capt around 1837 in Geneva; the firm was initially known as Nicole & Capt. By 1840, they had established their London base at 80B Dean Street, Soho, specializing in advanced keyless work and chronographs. That same year, Adolphe Nicole registered patent no. 10,348, covering keyless mechanisms and early chronograph designs, laying the foundations for the firm’s reputation for quality and complexity in watchmaking. Further patents would follow. In 1858, the company relocated to 14 Soho Square, and in 1876, after Jules Capt’s death, Sophus Emil Nielsen joined, bringing further innovation, including his own “Up and Down” mechanism patent in 1884 (Patent No. 13,336). Nielsen, who had married Nicole’s daughter, helped transition the firm to Nicole Nielsen & Co. in the late 19th century, cementing their reputation in complicated watchmaking, including pocket chronometers, karrusels, and tourbillons.
The firm became a limited company in 1888 and continued expanding under Robert Benson North, who took leadership roles from 1898. North’s management diversified the company’s offerings, including ventures into tourbillon carriage clocks, and later, speedometers, catering to the evolving technological needs of the early 20th century.
By the 1920s, following World War I, the company pivoted primarily to speedometer production, rebranding as North & Sons Ltd. in 1917. The original watchmaking operations gradually diminished, and by 1934, the factory at 14 Soho Square ceased operation, marking the end of Nicole Nielsen & Co.’s era as a distinguished watchmaker.
The goldsmiths and watchmakers Munsey & Co. was founded by David Munsey in June 1885 and had premises on Market Hill in the historic heart of Cambridge. A very similar watch retailed by Carrington & Co. of London, hallmarked 1913-1914 and numbered 12596 was sold at Sotheby’s London, Masterworks of Time, Part 1, 2 July 2019, lot 126. The Carrington watch featured a similarly finished Nicole Nielsen movement, an 18ct gold case, and a Willis dial, closely resembling the present watch.