English deck watch with two day power reserve Circa 1887

Silver chronometer with power reserve by Charles Frodsham
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A very fine English silver free sprung two day pocket chronometer deck watch with duo in uno hairspring, up and down indication, and fitted mahogany box, circa 1887. This timepiece features a gilded half plate movement with spring detent escapement, duo in uno hairspring, diamond endstone, free sprung bi metallic screw balance and is signed Charles Frodsham of 84 Strand, London, by Appointment to the Queen, with medals of honour, and numbered 07326. The silvered dial is adorned with blued steel spade hands, Roman numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial and a sector with an up and down indication from 0 to 54. Additionally, the dial is further engraved with the Royal Warrant and a medal of honour for France, Russia, and Italy.
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The silver case features gold hinges, a plain ring pendant hallmarked 1886, and a plain polished inner cuvette. Both the case and cuvette are hallmarked London, 1887, and bear the casemaker’s stamp GJT incuse for George James Thickbroom. The watch is housed in a mahogany deck box, and the fitted wooden interior opens into an easel-form stand with velvet and silk lining.
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Diameter: 68 mm
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Dimensions: 109 x 139 mm
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Signed: Charles Frodsham, 84 Strand, London
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With light tarnishing and a few small scuffs on the dial. Both the case and pendant are tarnished, with a small and minor depression on the top of the outside case back. The movement is running and appears to be in good condition, with lovely bright blueing on the spring.
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Accompanied by a Charles Frodsham & Co. Certificate of Origin, confirming the watch’s entry into their stock in 1888, the present lot is part of a series of approximately twenty-two pieces produced over a forty year period. Eleven pieces are known to have survived. The first two pieces were sold around 1856-7, while the present lot belongs to the final part of the series, completed in three small groups in the late 1880s and 1890s.
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Charles Frodsham, a distinguished horologist, was born on April 15^th, 1810, and he died on January 11^th, 1871. Soon after marrying Elizabeth Mill (1813–1879), he founded his own business at 7 Finsbury Pavement, London. He rapidly established himself as a leading London chronometer maker. With the death of another major chronometer maker, John Roger Arnold (son of the eminent John Arnold), Charles acquired the Arnold business in 1843, moving his family and business address to 84 Strand, London. Trading as Arnold & Frodsham until 1858, when the firm Charles Frodsham was officially established. Through his many publications and timepieces, Frodsham dedicated himself to the exploration and improvement of timekeeping in its many forms, achieving acclaim for his work, from chronometers to barometers.
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The Frodsham balance, which was designed for phenomenal accuracy, can be found in coach clocks and some mantel clocks dating to as early as 1851. Frodsham was a founding member, and later Vice President, of the British Horological Institute and a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Clockmakers, of which he became free in 1845 and in which he served as Master in 1855 and 1862.
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On the death of Benjamin Lewis Vulliamy (1780–1854), Frodsham purchased the goodwill of the Vulliamy business and, on the recommendation of Airy, succeeded Vulliamy as ‘Superintendent and Keeper of Her Majesty’s Clocks at Buckingham Palace’, cementing the firm’s position as leading international clockmakers. In 1855, Frodsham won the Gold Medal of Honour at the Paris Exhibition. In 1862, he was awarded the Medal of Honour for his service as a juror at the Great International Exhibition in South Kensington. He continued to achieve recognition at exhibitions from Russia to Paris.
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Charles Frodsham excelled at his art until he died of liver disease at the age of 60. Upon Charles’s death, his son, Harrison Mill Frodsham (1849–1922), took charge of the firm and incorporated it in 1893 as Charles Frodsham & Co. Ltd. He proved to be an able horologist and businessman, and the firm continued to flourish. It continues today, specialising in fine precision timepieces.