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The Encyclopedia of Horology

Pocket watch · Allemagne

Drum-shaped striking watch with bell

Verified

The gilded brass case is engraved, chased and partly pierced, while the back is decorated with a medallion of flowered arabesques. Around the side is a frieze of interlaced knots interrupted by three vertically aligned fleurs-de-lis under the fastening. The cover is decorated with intertwined arches, through which one can see the hours, and a central medallion adorned with leaves.

Technical facts

Inventory number
MIH I-505
Object type
Pocket watch
Place of production
Allemagne
Dating
c. 1575
Materials and techniques (catalogue wording)
laiton, fer
Dimensions (catalogue)
Dimensions: 61.0 x 56.5 x 22.5 mm; poids: 178.000 g
Inscriptions (catalogue)
I H (Platine); Trois fleurs de lys placées verticalement (Boîte)

Historical significance

  • The gilded brass case is engraved, chased and partly pierced, while the back is decorated with a medallion of flowered arabesques. Around the side is a frieze of interlaced knots interrupted by three vertically aligned fleurs-de-lis under the fastening. The cover is decorated with intertwined arches, through which one can see the hours, and a central medallion adorned with leaves.
  • The dial has two hour-chapter rings: one, in Roman numerals, indicates the hours from I to XII; the other, in Arabic numerals, the hours from 13 to 24. The use of Z instead of 2 was characteristic of German watches during the Renaissance.
  • The movement has a straight foliot, an S-shaped balance cock, and an hour-strike. To regulate the mainspring, it has a C-shaped stackfreed, acting as a brake on a snail-shaped cam.

Photographs

Drum-shaped striking watch with bell (MIH I-505)
Drum-shaped striking watch with bell (MIH I-505) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Drum-shaped striking watch with bell (MIH I-505)
Drum-shaped striking watch with bell (MIH I-505) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record
Drum-shaped striking watch with bell (MIH I-505)
Drum-shaped striking watch with bell (MIH I-505) — Musée international d'horlogerie, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Museum collection photograph, rights review pending. MIH collection record

Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.

Sources & references

  1. Musée international d'horlogerie, online collection record, inv. I-505: https://collection.mih.ch/fr/collection/item/36734/

Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.