Height | Diameter: 52 mm |
A Most Fine Keyless English Pocket Watch by Rotherhams of London with an interesting inscription
The present watch comes in a substantial, plain, solid silver case with a London hallmark for 1913, having a gilt winding button and a bevel-edged crystal glass. The dial is of white enamel on copper and has black Roman hour numerals, a minutes chapter and an outer ring divided into fifths of seconds, being signed below XII, ROTHERHAMS and having extremely well finished, blued steel hands with a remarkably fine seconds hand. The movement is of the typical high quality that one would expect from such a prestigous maker, all the brass work is gilded, the screws are blued, it is fully jewelled and has a large balance with gold timing screws. The top plate is signed, 1447432 MADE EXPRESSLY FOR Frank Grady WELLINGTON N.Z. By Rotherhams LONDON.
Where present, inscriptions are generally found on the watch case and were engraved after the watch was finished. It is rare to find a watch engraved with a dedication on the movement as this required the extra work of having the plate gilded after the engraving had been added.
Frank Grady was a highly respected silversmith working from premises in Wallis Street, Wellington, New Zealand. He also sold clocks, watches and jewellery which he imported from England. The present watch is a fine example, being typical of the high quality watches being made in England immediately prior to the Great War (the watch was completed in 1913). After the war, the returning soldiers were bringing back wristwatches from France which were the latest fashion. This, and the severe shortage of skilled labour due to the war effort, saw the demise of pocket watch production in England from which it never really recovered. Competition from Switzerland and America increased, both producing good quality watches but very much by machine methods. The English watchmakers stuck to their old ways of hand finishing everything, which was considerably more time consuming, hence more expensive.
Clock maker: | Rotherhams |
Circa: | Hallmarked 1913 |
Height: | Diameter: 52 mm |
Price: | SOLD |