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DTSTAMP:20260404T074922Z
SUMMARY:charles-frodsham-london - Date de vente : 08/12/2025
DESCRIPTION:Nom du lots : Charles Frodsham\, London\n\nMovement: frosted g
 ilded two-third plate Nicole\, Nielsen & Co. movement\, going barrel\, Rob
 ert Benson North patent six-minute tourbillon carriage mounted with a ratc
 het-tooth lever escapement\, free-sprung bi-metallic compensation balance\
 , blued steel balance spring with overcoil\, diamond endstone\, backplate 
 signed Chas Frodsham\, By Appointment to the King\, 115 New Bond St\, lat
 e of 84 Strand London\, AD Fmsz\, No. 08978\n\nDial: silvered dial\, Roma
 n numerals\, subsidiary dial for constant seconds\, blued steel spade Breg
 uet hands\, signed Chas Frodsham\, 08978\, AD Fmsz\n\nCase: 18k yellow g
 old\, olivette for hand setting with protective shoulders\, case back engr
 aved with the Aber family crest of a rampant demi-talbot above the motto 
 Fidelis\, London hallmarks for 1905-06\, sponsor’s mark HMF for Harriso
 n Mill Frodsham\, numbered 08978\, cuvette stamped 78\n\nSigned: dial a
 nd movement signed Charles Frodsham\, case stamped HMF for Harrison Mill
  Frodsham\n\nDiameter: 53 mm\n\nReinhard Meis\, Das Tourbillon\, Munich: 
 Laterna Magica\, 1986\, p. 345.\n\nVaudrey Mercer\, The Frodshams: The Sto
 ry of a Family of Chronometer Makers\, Antiquarian Horological Society\, 1
 981\, pp. 216\, 262.\n\nFrodsham no. 08978 was entered into trials three t
 imes between 1903 and 1905\, achieving its highest score at the November 1
 905 trials\, where it attained 82.4 marks and a Class A “Especially Good
 ” certification. The outer case back bears the crest of the Aber family 
 (a rampant demi-talbot) together with the motto Fidelis\, meaning “faith
 ful.”\n\nThis Frodsham incorporates a six-minute tourbillon movement sup
 plied by Nicole\, Nielsen & Co.\, constructed according to the designs of 
 Robert Benson North’s 1903 patent (no. 6737). On 23 March 1903\, North\,
  then owner of Nicole\, Nielsen & Co.\, applied for a patent for his “Im
 provements in Revolving Escapements for Watches and Other Portable Timekee
 pers.” In his design\, the revolving toothed carriage is supported from 
 beneath on a steel stud fixed to the pillar plate\, dispensing with the up
 per bridge or support traditionally found above the tourbillon. This not o
 nly allowed for a slimmer movement profile but also\, aesthetically\, prov
 ided a clearer view of the escapement. As North noted in his patent applic
 ation\, “as compared with watches of ordinary construction\, that is to 
 say made with stationary platform or fixed escapement\, the thickness of m
 y watch is not at all increased.” North also claimed that the method of 
 driving the carriage reduced friction and thereby minimised wear over time
 . In this form\, the carriage’s construction is described as a ‘flying
  tourbillon’ and is frequently confused with the karrusel. The invention
  of the flying tourbillon is often credited to Arthur Helwig in 1920\, how
 ever\, North’s design is considerably earlier and the first tourbillon d
 esign to have been made without an upper supporting pivot. [i]\n\nIn the p
 resent watch\, the carriage rotates once every six minutes - a period of r
 evolution also found in certain examples by the tourbillon’s inventor\, 
 Abraham-Louis Breguet. Breguet invented the tourbillon around 1795\, and h
 is patent application for the device dates to 1801. His first two tourbill
 on watches had carriages with one-minute revolutions\, followed by a serie
 s of four-minute tourbillons made between 1808 and 1815 (some sold as late
  as 1822). Around 1816\, Breguet introduced a six-minute tourbillon carria
 ge in a new\, markedly slimmer style of tourbillon watch\, although the ca
 rriage remained supported and fixed from both sides (for an example\, see 
 Sotheby’s Geneva\, 3–16 June 2020\, lot 27).\n\n[i] Confirmation provi
 ded by David Penney in Pierantonio Maragna\, Nicole\, Nielsen Watchmakers\
 , 2025\, p. 93.
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20251208
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