English pocket watch with chronograph and tachy scale Circa 1896

Gold heavy chronograph by George Edward Frodsham
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A heavy English gentleman’s pocket watch with chronograph and tachy scale, circa 1896. Property of the Dutch aeronautical engineer Albert Kapteyn, who was president of the Dutch aeronautical organisation and specialist for airships and balloons around 1915.
This piece has an 18 Carat gold, polished case with a gold dome, pusher for chronograph via pendant, and case maker’s punch mark GEF (George Edward Frodsham). An enamel dial with Arabic numerals, auxiliary seconds at 3, 60 minute counter at 9, spade hands, and signed Alb Kapteyn Engineer, velocimeter with red letterings: ENGLISH MILES FROM ½ MILE DISTANCES und KILOMETRES DEDUITS DE 400 METRES DE DISTANCE. And a 2/3 plate movement, frosted, gilt, and signed, with a raised barrel, screwed chatons, an English lever escapement, a gold screw compensation balance, a free-sprung blue balance spring, and a chatoned diamond endstone on balance.
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Diameter: 50 mm
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Weight: 138 g
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Signed: George Edward Frodsham, 31 Gracechurch St., London
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George Edward (G.E.) Frodsham (1818-1903)
George Edward Frodsham was the son of John Frodsham (1781-1849), the brother of William James Frodsham, founder of the Parkinson & Frodsham company. In 1849 George Edward took over the business in 31 Gracechurch Street after his father’s death; he was in partnership with a man called Baker for a short while but then ran the company on his own. In 1886 he was forced to turn “G.E. Frodsham & Co.” into a limited company, where he was a managing director for some time. This watch was made while Frodsham was still with the company; it was probably intended for military purposes such as measuring the speed of grenades or torpedoes.