Lot 81

Thomas Dyde, Londini, 59 mm, 173 g, circa 1660
A rare, heavy, one-handed pair-cased verge pocket watch with date indicator and alarm
Case: outer case - silver, leather cover, applied stud decoration, pierced edges, large lateral hinge. Inner case - silver, open-worked and finely florally engraved, rear bell. Dial: silver and partly firegilt, inlaid radial Roman hours, outer date ring with inlaid Arabic numerals, central alarm disc with florally engraved centre, blued single hand. Movm.: fine full plate movement, keywind, firegilt, signed, gut/fusee, florally pierced barrel for alam, 1 hammer, Egyptian movement pillars, applied blued iron click work, verge escapement, iron balance, florally engraved and pierced balance cock.
Thomas Dyde (1635-1686)
Thomas Dyde was born in 1635 in Draycott near Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire. He begann his apprenticeship with the Blacksmiths' Company in February 1648; he apprenticed under John Warfield and kept on working for him until 1655, even after having completed his apprenticeship.
Dyde is known as having worked independently and on his own; he never became a member of the Company of Clockmakers but was known to and apparently accepted by its members, just as his teacher John Warfield was. This is unusual in that the Company usually wanted non-members who worked in the trade to join - sometimes non-members were even put under considerable pressure. However, this seems not to have happened in the cases of John Warfield and Thomas Dyde. Dyde died in December 1686.
Source: Brian Loomes.

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