American 18 carat gold patented lever watch Circa 1870

Pocket watch with coaxial double wheel anchor chronometer escapement
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A significant ‘patented chronometer’ with a coaxial double wheel anchor chronometer escapement, made by Charles Fasoldt in Albany, New York, United States of America, circa 1870. This watch features an 18 carat gold à goutte, guilloché case with the casemaker’s punch MRM (Martin Robert Matthews, who probably made this case around 1981 in Clerkenwell, London, England). The original and perfectly preserved enamel dial features an outer minute and hour track with Roman hour numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock and steel hands. The numbered movement is equipped with a patented coaxial double wheel anchor chronometer escapement, gold chatons, a fine adjustment in gold, wolf’s toothing, winding wheels, a chronometer balance and is marked “Pat. Apr. 5. 1864 & March 7. 1865”.
The movement is signed.
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Diameter: 51 mm
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Weight: 154 g
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Signed: C. Fasoldt Albany N.Y.
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Fasoldt
Charles Fasoldt (1818 – 1898) was born in Germany and was sentenced to death in 1848 for his participation in the revolution. However, he managed to escape from prison and emigrated to the United States. He settled in Albany and began building an impressive company that, in addition to watches, produced measuring instruments and microscopes, including his famous chronometers. He sold the watches for 150 to 300 dollars each, a significant price for that time. All the watches were designed by Fasoldt himself and almost all of them featured his patented lever escapement. For his pocket watches, he invented a mechanism for winding and setting the hands – this paved the way for the transition from key winding to crown winding systems.

On 7 March 1865, Fasoldt patented his extraordinarily reliable lever escapement, which requires no lubrication and has a very strong resistance angle on both pallet forks. To prove the reliability of his escapement, Fasoldt conducted a spectacular test: He attached one of his pocket watches, along with several watches from other manufacturers, to the connecting rod of a steam locomotive for a round trip from Albany to New York and back. After the bumpy ride, Fasoldt’s watch showed only a slight deviation, while all the other watches had stopped after just a few minutes.
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Matthews
The Matthews family represents one of the most celebrated and enduring lineages of traditional English watchcase makers and goldsmiths, spanning four generations of highly skilled craftsmanship. Operating primarily out of the historic horological hub of Clerkenwell, London, the family dedicated nearly two centuries to the intricate art of manufacturing pocket watch cases and executing master level engine turning (guilloché).

The most well known figure in the family’s history is Martin Robert Matthews (1935–2013), who was a fourth generation watchcase maker and goldsmith. Following his demise in January 2013, the active, commercial multi generational family business officially came to an end. He was the fourth and final traditional watchcase maker of his line and there was no direct family successor to inherit and operate the workshop as a commercial enterprise.