Pair-case watch

Thomas Tompion|Nathanial Delander

1682–83 · Outer case: leather with gold studs; inner case and dial: gold with blued-steel hands; movement: gilded brass, partly blued steel, silver · European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

This extraordinary watch records seconds on the subsidiary dial above the number VI on the chapter ring for hours and minutes. It also has a remarkably early stop mechanism that can be activated at will in order to measure short intervals of time. The watch is not numbered on the back plate, but it is numbered 175 on the pillar plate and on the inner case.

Artist

Thomas Tompion|Nathanial Delander

Date

1682–83

Medium

Outer case: leather with gold studs; inner case and dial: gold with blued-steel hands; movement: gilded brass, partly blued steel, silver

Culture

British, London

Department

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917