SUMMARY
A very nice condition solid 18k gold Napoleonic era verge chain driven fusee pair-case pocket watch. A Napoleonic 18k Gold Fusee Verge Pair Case Pocket Watch, from 1805. commeratoring the Battle of Trafalgar Pair. Lord Nelson's flag-ship is to the centre of the dial and aorund the outside edge ships of the fleet.
The Battle of Trafalgar was a naval engagement that took place on 21 October 1805 between the British Royal Navy and the combined fleets of the French and Spanish Navies during the War of the Third Coalition (August–December 1805) of the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815).
As part of Napoleon's plans to invade England, the French and Spanish fleets combined to take control of the English Channel and provide the Grande Armée safe passage. The allied fleet, under the command of the French admiral, Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, sailed from the port of Cádiz in the south of Spain on 18 October 1805. They encountered the British fleet under Lord Nelson, recently assembled to meet this threat, in the Atlantic Ocean along the southwest coast of Spain, off Cape Trafalgar.
Nelson was outnumbered, with 27 British ships of the line to 33 allied ships including the largest warship in either fleet, the Spanish Santísima Trinidad. To address this imbalance, Nelson sailed his fleet directly at the allied battle line's flank, hoping to break it into pieces. Villeneuve had worried that Nelson might attempt this tactic but, for various reasons, had made no plans in case this occurred. The plan worked almost perfectly; Nelson's columns split the Franco-Spanish fleet in three, isolating the rear half from Villeneuve's flag aboard Bucentaure. The allied vanguard sailed off while it attempted to turn around, giving the British temporary superiority over the remainder of their fleet. The ensuing fierce battle resulted in 22 allied ships being lost, while the British lost none.
The tactic exposed the leading ships in the British lines to intense fire from multiple ships as they approached the Franco-Spanish lines. Nelson's own HMS Victory led the front column and was almost knocked out of action. Nelson was shot by a French musketeer and died shortly before the battle ended. Villeneuve was captured along with his flagship Bucentaure. He attended Nelson's funeral while a captive on parole in Britain. The senior Spanish fleet officer, Admiral Federico Gravina, escaped with the remnant of the Franco-Spanish fleet (a third of what it had been in number of ships); he died of wounds sustained during the battle five months later.
The victory confirmed the naval supremacy Britain had established during the course of the eighteenth century, and was achieved in part through Nelson's departure from prevailing naval tactical orthodoxy.
The watch recently cleaned and overhauled and keeps good verge time and comes with a two year mechanical warranty.
THE DIAL: 99%, the polychrome enamel dial with Roman numerals and gold spade hands. The bullseye glass in very fine condition with a tiny edge chip. Diameter is 42 mm. The dial as described above, in fine condition.
THE MOVEMENT 100% mint, with richly gilded full plate in wonderful condition. The back plate with gilded and chased and engraved surface. With further gilded decoration and finely made silvered Tompion type time regulator. The watch signed James Thompson, London with movement number 3034. The watch is key-wind, comes with a key and is ticking very strongly indeed and movement size is 41 mm diameter.
The movement with ballustar pillars. Polished steel movement bolt with its original blued steel ornate screw. Pierced gilded fusee stop work with iron hinge. The movement with several high quality features. These consist of the fusee ratchet on the outside of the fusee, the third wheel is positioned at the top of the movement and the mainspring setup is under the dial and a highly decorative and carved case spring. The screws are original, and the gilding is still bright and fresh.
THE CASE 98% mint, the solid 18k gold outer case measures 52 mm outside diameter. The matching 18k gold inner case measures 43 mm and with a few fine patination marks as shown. The five knuckle square outer case hinge is excellent with the case closing tight and like-wise the inner case hinge also closes tight. The inner case with London hall-marks clearly visible, with case maker mark of "SS". The pendant and d-shaped bow, in good condition, the case button in good order. The surface is complete and in very fine and bright condition. The cases of heavy gauge and a good weight and feel in the pocket. The watch cases with several fine and attractive watch maker repair papers adding to the history and provenance of the watch. The cases weigh 62 grams with glss and movement removed.
This is a very fine period antique in simply stunning condition, which is a very rare collectable item or a possible investment for the future or of course a fine gift for a birthday, anniversary, wedding etc.
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Please note, the magnified electronic images show detail much greater than would be visible with the naked eye. Any dark areas or marks on highly polished surfaces are almost certainly reflections from the camera or lighting equipment. If there are any marks or dents of any note, these will be mentioned in the description. All of our watches have been fully cleaned and serviced by a professional watch-maker unless not stated on the auction and the time-keeping carefully checked. We are happy to give a 24 month warranty on this work, which is thoroughly checked, and all watches are also given a 24 hour check prior to being shipped.
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