- Museum number
- 1958,1201.616
- Description
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SILVER PAIR-CASED VERGE WATCH WITH MOCK PENDULUM BALANCE.
Verge escapement.
Bust of Queen Anne flanked by orb, crown, sword and sceptre on back of movement.
Silver pendulum dial with aperture for mock-pendulum. Regulation through dial.
Blued-steel beetle and poker hands.
Silver pair cases.
Train Count
Great wheel 48
Second wheel 54/12
Third wheel 48/6
Contrate 45/6
Escape wheel 15/6
Motion work
Hour wheel 30
Canon pinion 8
Min. wh. pin. 10
Min. wheel 32
- Production date
- 1702-1703
- Dimensions
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Diameter: 56.20 millimetres (outer case)
- $Inscriptions
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- Curator's comments
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As can be seen from the inscription, this watch commemorates the accession of Queen Anne on the 8th March 1702, (rather than the coronation itself, which took place on 23rd April 1702).
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Text from 'Watches', by David Thompson, London, 2008, p. 62-63.
David Lestourgeon
SILVER PAIR-CASED VERGE WATCH
LONDON, 1702-3
SIGNED: 'David Lestourgeon London'
"Lost last Saturday night, the 16th instant, in or near St. James's Park, a silver pendulum watch, the maker David Lestourgeon, with a silver chain, the pendulum upon the dial plate, with the Queen's-Head upon the inside plate, and underneath Reg. Incipit. 8 die Martii 1702.
Whoever brings it to Mr. Lestourgeon, watchmaker in Lothbury, shall have one guinea reward, without being askt any questions."
London Daily Courant, 19 July 1709
(from research by W.R. andV.B. McLeod and John R. Millburn)
This watch is signed 'David Lestourgeon London' in two cartouches on the movement's back plate and in the middle of the back is the inscription 'Regn incip 8 mart 1702' beneath a portrait bust of Queen Anne with the insignia of state: orb, sceptre, sword and crown. This inscription shows that, although similar, this is not the watch that was lost near St James's Park. It is, however, a 'pendulum watch' and, like the Fardoil watch (registration no. 1958,1201.2347), it has a visible balance seen through an aperture in the dial.
Following the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, London saw an enormous influx of French Huguenots into the city and its environs. Among the 25,000-30,000 who are thought to have come to London, there were a number of watch- and watch-case makers. These makers generally set up their businesses in the Soho and Covent Garden areas, as well as in the City itself. Indeed, quite a number of these skilled craftsmen were welcomed immediately into the Clockmakers' Company as Free Brothers, men who had already learned their trade. Along with the watchmakers came many others and it is perhaps no surprise to find that these astute businessmen saw an opportunity to capitalize on the situation. Today we are familiar with the twentieth-century phenomenon of the coronation mug and the plethora of memorabilia associated with either the passing or crowning of a monarch. But here is a watch made to celebrate the coronation of Queen Anne in 1702. Lestourgeon was not the only maker to create such commemorative watches, but it is interesting that nearly all the surviving examples in this genre were made by immigrant watchmakers. What better way to show one's allegiance to the English crown than to wear a coronation watch?
David Lestourgeon, a Huguenot watchmaker, was married in Rouen in 1660. He went in 1681 to London, where he was naturalized the following year. It was probably his son, also David, who made this watch. He became a Free Brother in the Clockmakers' Company in 1698, perhaps having learned his skills from his father. His business was in Lothbury in the City, and he is thought to have died in 1731. While Lestourgeon made the watch, the silver case was made by John Banbury, whose mark, 'IB' with a coronet above, appears in both cases. Banbury was apprenticed in the Clockmakers' Company to Robert Wood in 1675 and gained his freedom in the Company in 1682. He is thought to have lived in the parish of St Sepulchres with his wife, Alice, four children and five lodgers. The number 5448, punched into both cases, is Lestourgeon's production number.
- Location
- On display (G39/dc14/no32)
- Exhibition history
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Exhibited:
1995 05 Jun-09 Jul, Norwich, Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, About Time.
- Condition
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Latest: 3 (20 March 2024)
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2 (2016)
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3 (1994)
- Acquisition date
- 1958
- Acquisition notes
- Following the successful acquisition of the celebrated Ilbert collection of clocks (1958,1006 collection), prints and other related materials made possible by the generous donation of funds by Gilbert Edgar CBE Ilbert's watches were then acquired using funds provided by Gilbert Edgar, public donations and government funds.
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1958,1201.616
- Additional IDs
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Previous owner/ex-collection number: CAI.0616 (Ilbert Collection)
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Previous owner/ex-collection number: L109 (Ilbert Ledger)