London, Switzerland (Vaud), active in England · c. 1725 – 1797
Josiah Emery
Partially verifiedEarly refinement and production of the detached lever escapement
Life & work
Josiah Emery was a Swiss-born watchmaker who settled in London and became one of the first makers to produce detached lever watches in meaningful numbers following Thomas Mudge's invention of the escapement in the 1750s, at a time when the wider trade was slow to adopt it. Emery's watches, made in relatively small numbers for a discerning clientele, are among the earliest surviving practical demonstrations that the lever escapement could be manufactured reliably rather than remaining a single inventor's prototype.
Emery was elected to the Society of Arts and is recorded as having exhibited or discussed lever watches in a way that helped keep the mechanism visible to the trade during the decades when it was otherwise neglected in favour of the cheaper verge and cylinder escapements. His role is that of an important early propagator and refiner of Mudge's invention rather than its originator.
Because Emery's total output was small and his surviving signed pieces are correspondingly rare, the documentary record of his individual technical contributions beyond general reputation is thinner than for the escapement's inventor, Mudge, or its later industrial popularisers; this entry reflects that comparative gap.
Timeline
Josiah Emery's recorded dates, dated events from this profile and its sources, and dated pieces and sales from the object catalogue. Dates are as each record gives them.
c. 1725 · Career
Born
circa 1785 · Catalogued piece
1797 · Career
Died
Training, contributions & innovations
- Among the earliest makers to produce the detached lever escapement in practical numbers after Mudge's invention
- Helped sustain trade and scientific interest in the lever escapement during its decades of slow adoption
Inventions & patents
- No specific patent of Emery's own is confirmed in the sources consulted; his significance lies in early production and propagation of Mudge's lever escapement rather than a distinct patented invention.
Signatures & markings on surviving work
- Watches signed 'Josiah Emery, London'
Collecting significance
Surviving Emery lever watches are rare and of high historical interest to specialists in escapement history; attribution should be confirmed against known surviving examples in institutional collections given the small original output.
Firms, key models & movements
No firm, model or movement in this encyclopedia is yet recorded under this maker's name.
In the object catalogue
2 catalogued objects are recorded under Josiah Emery. Attributions are as given by each source and are not independent authentication.
- 18th C. Josiah Emery Mahogany Tall Case ClockLongcase clock · 18th C.
- Josiah Emery Small Mahogany Longcase ClockLongcase clock · circa 1785
Provenance
Where the 2 catalogued pieces by Josiah Emery were recorded, with the collectors, owners and sales their records name.
Provenance map
Each piece is linked to the museum, auction house or dealer whose record it comes from, and to any other house or collection its own provenance names. Select a name to see its pieces.
Auction houses · 2 pieces
Bidsquare (auction platform)
Auction house · 1 piece
18th C. Josiah Emery Mahogany Tall Case ClockLongcase clock · 18th C. · Record source
Bidsquare (auction platform): lot 949
Auction history
| House | Sale & lot | Object |
|---|---|---|
| Bidsquare (auction platform) | lot 949 | 18th C. Josiah Emery Mahogany Tall Case Clock |
| Sotheby's | lot 157 | Josiah Emery Small Mahogany Longcase Clock |
Each line is copied from the object's source record and is not independently verified. Holders are as recorded when the piece was catalogued: museum objects may not be on display, and sold lots have since changed hands.
Photographs
Photographs are illustrative examples of the type, not necessarily the exact object described. Verify details against the source file page.
Sources & references
- Britten, F. J., Old Clocks and Watches and Their Makers
- Clockmakers' Company museum records on early lever-escapement watches
Where sources disagree, the disagreement is stated rather than resolved silently.