100th Auction
2019/11/15
Lot 38
Ernst Müller, Berlin, Height 1570 mm, circa 1860
A remarkable precision regulator with centre seconds and world time indicator, two months power reserve
Case: oak, veneered with ebony, curled maple. Dial: silvered. Movm.: trapezoid-shaped brass movement, Graham escapement with adjustable stone pallets, zinc/steel-compensation pendulum according to Tiede.
The interest in the different local times in the many regions of the world existed long before the International Meridian Conference in Washington in 1884, which divided the world into time zones and voted for the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian. The silvered inner chapter ring of this wall clock made by Ernst Müller of Berlin is inscribed with 109 locations, from Adelaide to Yedo (Tokyo). Since the Greenwich meridian had not been adopted as prime meridian at the time, Müller decided to use Berlin as zero meridian and started counting from that point.
Jürgen Ermert illustrates and describes this clock in great detail in the 2nd volume of his series on Precision Pendulum Clocks in Germany between 1730 and 1940; during his research on the timepiece, Ermert found an article on the World Exhibition in Paris 1867 with details on the maker of this clock who was otherwise fairly unknown.
According to the article, Ernst Müller was clockmaker to the court in Berlin and had a shop at Kronenstrasse 56, which existed since 1771. He participated in the exhibition with "a clock invented by himself, showing the exact time for all locations worldwide" – we cannot say if that particular timepiece was the clock we have here or one very similar to it.
The technical execution is of supreme quality right down to the last detail: The Graham escapement can be adjusted for the angle of the lever and for the pallets, likewise the fork and of course the angle of the decline. The escapement is very similar to a design by Friedrich Tiede, who also worked in Berlin. The plate is stamped with a "T", which - Ermert presumes – may indicate that one of Tiede’s ebauches was used. The heavy lateral block weight guarantees the two months power reserve. A beautiful detail is the delicate filigree work of the hands, with each showing an escutcheon inside a gear wheel, while the seconds hand shows the same detail in its gilt, short side. The maker of the - later made - case obviously did not want to be outdone by all these exquisite details and used a locking device with a surprisingly sophisticated mechanism.
This timepiece is an altogether unusual and very beautiful pendulum clock of supreme technical quality.
A remarkable precision regulator with centre seconds and world time indicator, two months power reserve
Case: oak, veneered with ebony, curled maple. Dial: silvered. Movm.: trapezoid-shaped brass movement, Graham escapement with adjustable stone pallets, zinc/steel-compensation pendulum according to Tiede.
The interest in the different local times in the many regions of the world existed long before the International Meridian Conference in Washington in 1884, which divided the world into time zones and voted for the Greenwich meridian as the prime meridian. The silvered inner chapter ring of this wall clock made by Ernst Müller of Berlin is inscribed with 109 locations, from Adelaide to Yedo (Tokyo). Since the Greenwich meridian had not been adopted as prime meridian at the time, Müller decided to use Berlin as zero meridian and started counting from that point.
Jürgen Ermert illustrates and describes this clock in great detail in the 2nd volume of his series on Precision Pendulum Clocks in Germany between 1730 and 1940; during his research on the timepiece, Ermert found an article on the World Exhibition in Paris 1867 with details on the maker of this clock who was otherwise fairly unknown.
According to the article, Ernst Müller was clockmaker to the court in Berlin and had a shop at Kronenstrasse 56, which existed since 1771. He participated in the exhibition with "a clock invented by himself, showing the exact time for all locations worldwide" – we cannot say if that particular timepiece was the clock we have here or one very similar to it.
The technical execution is of supreme quality right down to the last detail: The Graham escapement can be adjusted for the angle of the lever and for the pallets, likewise the fork and of course the angle of the decline. The escapement is very similar to a design by Friedrich Tiede, who also worked in Berlin. The plate is stamped with a "T", which - Ermert presumes – may indicate that one of Tiede’s ebauches was used. The heavy lateral block weight guarantees the two months power reserve. A beautiful detail is the delicate filigree work of the hands, with each showing an escutcheon inside a gear wheel, while the seconds hand shows the same detail in its gilt, short side. The maker of the - later made - case obviously did not want to be outdone by all these exquisite details and used a locking device with a surprisingly sophisticated mechanism.
This timepiece is an altogether unusual and very beautiful pendulum clock of supreme technical quality.
Sold
estimated
16.000—30.000 €
Price realized
21.300 €