Lot 5

Wilhelm Bröcking, Hamburg, Case No. 25606, 59 mm, 146 g, circa 1880
A rare deck watch of the German Imperial Navy
Case: silver, military engraving: imperial crown M 228. Dial: enamel. Movm.: bridge movement, screw compensation balance.
The inscription on the dome reads "W. Bröcking, Präcisions-Uhrmacher der Deutschen Seewarte Hamburg" (watchmaker at the German naval observatory in Hamburg) and indicates that the name Bröcking was held in high esteem in Hamburg. In 1830 Bröcking’s father Johann Wilhelm Hinrich established the Bröcking watch company, which Wilhelm took over after his death in 1862.
From 1883 on Wilhelm was the watchmaker at the naval observatory in Hamburg and amongst other things responsible for releasing the time ball that allowed the ships to set their chronometers accurately. Bröcking produced pocket and marine chronometers, some of which were presented for testing at the German Naval Observatory. He also built the standard time clock at the Hamburg stock exchange, which was in use until 1972. Wilhelm Bröcking died in 1897; the shop in Hamburg was continued by his descendants until 1962. Its last address was at Jungfernstieg 7.

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