Lot 416

Daniel Quare, London, Movement No. 828, Case No. 828, 50 mm, 146 g, circa 1717
An important pair-cased quarter repeating verge pocket watch with Champlevé dial
Case: outer case - 22k gold, case maker's punch mark "WG". Inner case - 22k gold, movement protection cap, rear bell. Dial: gilt, Champlevé. Movm.: full plate movement, keywind, chain/fusee, 2 hammers, three-arm brass balance.
The outer gold case of this heavy watch has a pierced band and is engraved with town views and portraits. The back shows a cartouche with initials and a crown. From a technical point of view this watch is in excellent condition, however, due to not having been used for a long time, lubrication has dried out.
Daniel Quare, one of the most eminent makers was born around 1648 in Somersetshire. He joined the clockmakers company in 1671 and became a master in 1708. He died on March 21, 1724, in Croydon in Surrey. In addition to his legendary clocks and watches Quare created various barometers and mathematical instruments and is credited with the invention of the rack striking mechanism. He came to the attention of the King in 1686, when Edward Barlow tried to patent a repeating mechanism for watches, and Quare, with the support of the clockmakers company, appealed his patent, saying he had been making repeaters since 1680. Repeating was important in the era before easily turned-on electric light, so you could know what time it was in the dark. Barlow's patent was refused, and the king, testing Barlow's and Quare's watches side by side, stated a preference for Quare's. There are Quare clocks in the royal collections at Buckingham Palace and Hampton Court, as well as in important museums and further private collections.

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