Lot 209

Shuttleworth, London, Case No. 5338, 55 mm, 130 g, circa 1800
An attractive three-colour gold quarter repeating verge pocket watch with 3 jacquemarts
Case: 18k gold, engine-turned. Dial: enamel chapter ring. Movm.: full plate movement, keywind, 2 hammers, 2 gongs, three-arm brass balance.
The top half of the two-part gold jacquemart "á trois couleurs" shows an opening in the form of a balcony with automaton; a bearded man strikes the hours on a bell with a hammer. The lower half shows a galant couple in period costume, striking the quarters.

The automaton Jacks on the dial refer to the Medieval way of public time announcing which was by real people striking every hour on a bell situated at the top of the city tower. Later, life-size robots, called Jacquemarts or Jacks, amused public by striking bells in large public clocks, of which, probably the most famous is the one in Venice at Piaza San Marco and the oldest (1383) in the tower of Dijon.

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