Late Masterwork of John Roger Arnold (Frodsham)
Arnold & Son Duplex-Escapement & Fusee-Chain: Pair Hunter-Pocketwatches
- Time (Hour, Minute, Small Second)
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EmailWHY WE LOVE IT? Because it is the Son in Arnold & Son. A late master-work of John Roger Arnold (*1769 - 1843, son of John Arnold, see photo ex Wikipedia showing Arnold & Son), the important 19th-century London-based Chronometer-watchmaker, Louis Abraham Breguet-scholar and colleague of the important English Chronometer-makers Charles Frodsham & Edward John Dent. A historically-loaded artefact in highest quality.
We can date these two full-hunter pocketwatches to 1842 according to the London hallmark in both 18K-cases and this makes both watches late artefacts of the master, just before Charles Frodsham took over his shop in 84 Strand, London after Arnolds death in 1943. The cases are lavish decorated with floral-decoration as is one of the two dials coming with each watch, the other one is numbered as the case, the movement and the box and signed John Roger Arnold.
About the importance and relevance of the innovations and the horological finesse of the Arnold-watches is a lot to tell, but to keep it short: their innovations were mainly about compensations of environment-influences (temperature, time, magnetism & gravity) and about the usability: in London and in the outposts of the British Empire or on board of the HMS Beagle (Darwin). It is fair to call the Arnolds the two most important British chronometer-makers and closely tied to navigation-excellence and the successful dominance of the Empire on the world-seas in the 2nd half of the 18th and the early 19th century. NB: Of the 129 chronometers of the Royal Navy, 84 were signed Arnold.
These two (2) masterpieces are powered by a special duplex-escapement and employ a complicated fusee-and-chain: a well-thought compensation for the torque-loss during the unwinding of the mainspring. Signed Arnold and 84 Strand, London.
Both timepieces were serviced and run reliably although their age of almost 200y. The important horological artefacts come with its original (numbered) box, the numbered movements (signed Arnold - 84 Strand, London - 2'09X), numbered cases and numbered dials (2'09X), plus a complementary dial (floral decoration) and the original winding-keys (gold) -- and everything almost 200y old and in outstanding condition.