English gold chronometer with 30h power reserve Circa 1887

Gold precision watch by A.E. Fridlander
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A heavy English 18 carat gold open faced precision pocket watch with 30 hour power reserve, circa 1887. Retailed by Kilpatrick & Co in London. 2/3 Plate movement, either key or crown winding, chain and fusee, a lever escapement, gold screw compensation balance and free sprung, blued balance spring. Off-white enamel dial with Roman hours, an outer minute track, power reserve indication at 12, sunk subsidiary seconds at 6 o’clock and spade and whip hands. The plain case with maker’s mark AF. Case numbered, movement numbered and signed by the retailer, movement and case with matching numbers. Comes with an extract from Andreas Hidding’s chronometer database.
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Diameter: 55 mm
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Weight: 166 g
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Signed: Kilpatrick & Co London
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The present chronometer was made by Alfred Emmanuel Fridlander. In 1888, it took part in the Kew Observatory’s chronometer competition at Old Deer Park in Richmond, London and achieved a score of 83.1 points and the award ‘especially good’ in the category Kew – Class A.
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The English watchmaker Alfred Emmanuel Fridlander, born in 1928, was one of the most successful watchmakers in Coventry. He came from a respected Jewish family originally from Germany. He was secretary of the Jewish community and synagogue in Coventry, and for a time also their chairman. As a Freemason, he belonged to the Trinity 254 Masonic Lodge, founded in 1755. He served as councillor, magistrate and secretary of the Coventry Fire Brigade. Fridlander made watches for various retailers, including the well known company Samuel Smith & Son in London, and was also appointed Maker to the Admiralty. The Royal Geographical Society was one of Fridlander’s most renowned clients. Between 1878 and 1928, this institution ordered around forty pocket watches from him for scientific expeditions. Fridlander also developed further commercial activities outside the watchmaking industry. He was a director of the Triumph Cycle Company and vice chairman of the Leigh Mills Company. Alfred Emmanuel Fridlander died a wealthy man in 1929.
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Kilpatrick & Co was a London based jeweller who established a branch in Melbourne, Australia in 1853.