A FINE AND RARE GEORGE III ONE-DAY MARINE CHRONOMETER WITH T...

Estimate

£4,000 - £6,000

A FINE AND RARE GEORGE III ONE-DAY MARINE CHRONOMETER WITH TRANSITIONAL PART FIRED-ENAMEL DIALJOHN ROGER ARNOLD, LONDON, NO. 215 CIRCA 1804The circular four columnar pillar single chain fusee movement with Harrison's maintaining power, jewelled pivots for the escape wheel, Arnold spring detent escapement with detent set within a tapered slot cut in the backplate and secured via a screwed foot, Arnold Z-type bimetallic balance with compensating nuts mounted on extensions to each rim segment and paired brass timing screws to circumference, helical balance spring and faceted diamond endstone, the backplate with spring set-up ratchet applied to the curved mainspring pivot plate, blued backcock and pillar securing screws, and signed John R. Arnold. London, N. 215, Inv'et Fecit in a curve to the outer edge, the 3.625 inch circular silvered brass Roman numeral dial signed Arnold, London No. 215 over inset slightly convex circular white enamel subsidiary seconds dial inscribed 215 to the centre and with Arabic five minutes beyond the outer minute track, with blued steel hands and secured by a convex-glazed screw-down bezel into a brass bowl with winding hole to underside, mounted via gimbals into a later purpose-made mahogany three tier box with a winding key, the exterior with square brass escutcheon plate and flush hinged brass carrying handles to sides; together with the original mainspring (now removed and replaced due to weakness) scratch engraved Robert Clark Nov 1 to inside edge.18cm (7ins) high, 17cm (6.75ins) wide, 17cm (6.75ins) deep.Provenance:The property of a private collector.John Roger Arnold is recorded in Betts, Jonathan MARINE CHRONMETERS AT GREENWICH... as born in Greenwich in February 1769 and apprenticed to his father in 1783. In 1792 he was sent to Paris to work with A.L. Breguet who was known to/friendly with John Arnold senior. John Roger took-on the majority of the workings of the business at 102 Cornhill, London, from around 1796 and succeeded his father on his death in 1799; by the following year the workshops had been transferred to new premises at Dalston, east London. In 1805 John Roger Arnold presented the Board of Longitude with his Explanation of Time Keepers constructed by Mr Arnold, to qualify for the £3,000 longitude award which corresponded to an equal amount allocated to Thomas Earnshaw at that time. The business was moved to John Roger Arnold's house at Chigwell in 1816. The following year he was appointed Master of the Clockmakers' Company, and in 1821 he was credited with the invention of the 'U' shaped compensated chronometer balance. In 1830 Arnold took Edward John Dent into partnership (after the unfortunate demise of his adopted son and likely successor); the partnership lasted ten years before being dissolved leaving Arnold to work alone until his death in 1843. The business was subsequently acquired by Charles Frodsham.The present chronometer was produced soon after the death of John Arnold in 1799 by his son John Roger Arnold. The dial is particularly notable in that it has a white enamel insert for the subsidiary seconds, and Arabic five-minute annotations to the outer track. It is known that John Arnold senior had a strong preference for enamel dials, a practice which was continued by John Roger, but by around chronometer number 220 he had adopted silvered dials. However, it would seem that just prior to this, John Roger Arnold produced a very small number with hybrid dials which were silvered but inset with an enamel subsidiary seconds disc. The present lot would appear to be one of only two known surviving examples of this type, with the other being number 217 which is now housed in the collection of the British Museum (number 1958, 1006. 1937). The Arabic five minutes beyond the minute track is also a feature that was also phased-out around the time of the introduction silvered brass for the dials.Of additional interest is the engraved inscription to the mainspring of the present lot Robert Clark Nov 1, which mirrors that of the mainspring of number 217 - which is inscribed Robert Clark May 12 1804. This would suggest that the mainspring for the current lot was made in October/November 1803 by the specialist spring maker of that name who is known to have worked 1774-1815. From this it would be reasonable to date the present chronometer to early 1804.The last chronometer to be made with the timepiece housed in a brass drum without gimbals (contained in typical Arnold-type octagonal wooden casing) is number 217. From this it would be reasonable to suggest that present instrument was also housed in a similar manner, but as then was subsequently upgraded to brass bowl and gimbals (of a type used by Morris Tobias) in the 1830's. When the present lot was discovered by the vendor the box was missing, hence the present box was commissioned using solid timber salvaged from a contemporary table leaf and executed to match the date and style of the present bowl and gimbals.The present lot is a very rare survivor of documentary importance as it was made at a transitional period in John Roger Arnold's work. When he was evolving his dials from white enamel (with Arabic five minutes to outer track) to fully silvered; and the case from brass drum without gimbals (in a faceted wooden surround) to gimballed brass bowl suspended within a square box. Not only this, but it was also made during the height of the Napoleonic Wars and the build-up to the Battle of Trafalgar. At time when the Arnold workshop would have been busy producing chronometers for the Royal Navy so one can only imagine what this timepiece has witnessed.