Charles Frodsham, London

Charles Frodsham, London

A heavy and very large yellow gold two-train grande and petite sonnerie trip minute repeating perpetual calendar chronograph hunting case keyless lever clock watch, with moon phases, leap year, central 60-minute register and enamel dial, Made in 1884

Dial: white enamel, blued steel spade hands for time and chronograph seconds, gold central hand for 60-minute register, four subsidiary dials for day, month with leap year indication, date and subsidiary seconds combined with aperture for moon phases

Calibre: gilt 4/5 plate, double roller lever escapement, bi-metallic compensation balance, balance wheel and centre wheel with diamond endstone 

Movement number: 06’989

Case: 18k yellow gold, plain hinged polished covers and cuvette

Case number: 06’989

Size: 69 mm diameter

Signed: dial, case, movement and cuvette 

Accessories: Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd. Certificate of Origin confirming the production of the present watch in 1884

Born in 1810 into a family of distinguished clockmakers, Charles Frodsham established his own firm in 1834 and quickly earned a reputation as one of Britain's foremost horologists. Renowned for precision timekeeping, the company achieved repeated success at the Greenwich and Kew Observatory trials and, through its acquisition of the historic John Arnold brand, became closely associated with the highest traditions of British watchmaking. Following Charles Frodsham's death in 1871, his son Harrison Mill Frodsham continued to develop the firm's expertise in both chronometry and complicated watchmaking.

Watch No. 06,989 is a remarkable demonstration of Frodsham's mastery of grand complications. Combining a perpetual calendar, minute repeater, chronograph, and grande et petite sonnerie, it ranks among the most sophisticated British pocket watches of its era. Yet, true to the restrained aesthetic favoured by English watchmakers, the movement presents an understated appearance, with most of its complex mechanism concealed beneath a traditional three-quarter plate. The watch is further distinguished by its rare central minute-register chronograph, a technically demanding feature seldom encountered even in contemporary Swiss watches. The movement ébauche was most likely supplied by Nicole Nielsen & Co., one of the Vallée de Joux's most respected makers of high-grade complicated movements.

Equally impressive is the watch's monumental gold case, measuring 69 mm in diameter and weighing an extraordinary 449 grams. The bow bears the maker's mark of Alfred Stram, a casemaker frequently employed by Frodsham, while the case is additionally engraved with the initials "HMF" for Harrison Mill Frodsham. Reserved for only the firm's finest custom-made creations, such details underline the exceptional importance of the present watch.

Combining extraordinary mechanical complexity, imposing physical presence, and outstanding craftsmanship, it stands among the most significant achievements of Charles Frodsham & Co. throughout the golden age of British watchmaking.