Patrizzi and Company is one of the larger watch-centric auction houses, and a pair of pieces that they've sold so far this month caught my eye.
From their May 7th auction comes a rare, Japanese-made coach clock (a coach clock is the term for something in the basic form of a pocket-watch, but much larger, in this case 92mm in diameter). Japanese clocks of this period have an unusual dial arrangement, with only 6 indications on the face. This is based on a Chinese method of telling time where the day was divided into 12 parts, six equal segments covered sunrise to sunset, six more equal part, of perhaps different length, covered sunset to sunrise. Due to the seasonal change in the length of daylight, the hour indicators need to be adjustable, and they are on this piece. The Japanese consider the number 9 to be mystical, so the telling of time starts with nine. The hours are indicated by the ones-place of the product of the actual hour (1,2,3...6) with 9, so:
Midnight (Rat) and midday (Horse) 1 × 9 = 09 9
2nd hour (Sheep) and 7th hour (Ox) 2 × 9 = 18 8
3rd hour (Monkey) and 8th hour (Tiger) 3 × 9 = 27 7
4th hour (Cock) and 9th hour (Hare) 4 × 9 = 36 6
5th hour (Dog) and 10th hour (Dragon) 5 × 9 = 45 5
6th hour (Boar) and 11th hour (Snake) 6 × 9 = 54 4
To confuse the issue even more, however, this watch has a "12" at the top position, as it would be in a European watch, not the expected "9"
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From June 15th's auction comes a mid-17th Century cruciform pocket/pendent watch. Perhaps made for a Knight of the Grand Cross of Malta as there are Maltese Crosses at the top, where the bail joins, and the bottom of the case. This piece predates the invention of the hairspring, and relies on a Stackfreed, a sort of variable friction device, to regulate it. The case was cut and faceted from a single piece of rock-crystal. Unusually it features a 5-wheel train (there are 4 wheels between the escapement and the barrel, which is added to the count), when most watches of this period used fewer wheels due to primitive mainsprings.
Back view, the curl of steel from the right arm of the cross to the left is the Stackfreed
Side view, at the right side the horizontal wheel from the Verge escapement is visable.
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